


Where We Can Go As We Are

by SolarMorrigan



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Autistic Newt Scamander, Awkward Percival Graves, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Overprotective Theseus Scamander, but also good big brother Theseus, not onscreen but heavily discussed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 22:11:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13109532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolarMorrigan/pseuds/SolarMorrigan
Summary: Living with Theseus was far from boring, but his sudden decision to bring his younger brother Newt to come stay at the apartment he and Percival shared was certainly up there in levels of unexpected.Or, in which Percival needs to learn how to deal with a teenager, Newt needs to learn to do the things he wants to do, and Theseus eventually needs to calm down.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I'm gonna level with you guys: this isn't finished and I don't know if it ever will be. I _want_ to finish it. I have it all plotted out, I just haven't been into Fantastic Beasts in recent months. I started writing this back in February and am still super attached to it and while normally I'd definitely just sit on it until it was finished, the teaser photos for the next movie kind of made me decide to post what I had. I knew when I started writing this that my Theseus would absolutely not match the movie Theseus. I was okay with that. I'm still okay with that. But since we'll probably actually get to see him soon, I decided to put this up so I had plausible deniability if nothing else
> 
> I know a lot of this probably won't be... factually accurate. I did more research that it might seem, but I also just really wanted the story to happen. This is probably the most self-indulgent thing I've written since I was 17, which is saying a lot because I was into Homestuck for, like, two years. Anywho, despite how kind of ridiculous this is and the fact it's unfinished, I hope you all enjoy what there is?
> 
>  
> 
> **"The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." - Maya Angelou**

“Hey, Percy?”

“Mm?” Percival grunted to show his attention without pulling his head out of the fridge.

Theseus, though he wasn’t being watched, leaned back in the kitchen chair with an air of affected nonchalance. “You remember when we got this flat, we had that agreement that each of us has one chance to do something monumentally stupid or life-changing and the other won’t be allowed to ask questions?”

There was a pause. Percival looked at Theseus over the top of the fridge door. “Didn’t we make that agreement when we were drunk?”

“Very.” Theseus nodded, “But we both remember it, so it still counts.”

Percival frowned at Theseus, but ceded the point. “Fair enough.” He ducked back into the fridge, as if in need of sustenance for the ensuing conversation, “So what monumentally stupid and-or life-changing thing are you about to do?”

“You remember my little brother?”

Answering a question with a question was never a good sign. Percival had known Theseus for almost three years now and had never seen him beat around the bush. All the same, Percival had to assume his roommate was going somewhere with this. “Newt, right?” Percival finally pulled a slice of leftover pizza from the fridge and shut the door.

“Yeah. Newt.” Theseus nodded, more to himself than to Percival.

Percival had only met Newt a few times. The kid was away at boarding school during the year, the same snooty one that Percival liked to tease Theseus about having attended, and the few times Percival had met Theseus’ family, Newt seemed to do his level best to blend into the background. He couldn’t say he knew much about Newt beyond some second-hand accounts from Theseus, but he at least knew _of_ him.

When Theseus didn’t say anything further, Percival sat down in the remaining kitchen chair and prompted him. “What about Newt?”

“He got expelled.”

Percival paused mid-bite. “’eriushly?” He mumbled around his pizza.

“And here’s where the agreement comes into play.” Theseus ran his hand through his hair, glancing over at Percival to gauge the other’s reaction.

Percival chewed quickly through what food was in his mouth, unwilling to be caught unaware once more. “I’m honestly not making any connections here.”

“Newt is… coming to stay. Here. With me. Us.” Theseus cleared his throat and then rushed out another sentence that Percival didn’t quite like the sound of.

“Excuse me?”

“My little brother Newt got expelled from the fancy-ass boarding school you like making fun of so much and he’s coming to stay here with me. Us.” Theseus repeated, almost mechanically.

“Yeah, no, I got all that. What was the second part?”

“I’m… Jesus, _fine_ , I’m not sure how long he’ll be staying.” Theseus huffed.

“And he’s not going back home because…?” Percival inquired, his pizza all but forgotten.

Theseus glared weakly at Percival. “What happened to the no questions asked clause?”

“It went out the window when the stupid and-or life-changing decision started involving a new roommate that goes against the lease, that’s what happened to it.” Percival snapped, “Theseus, you can’t just stuff another person in here, someone’s gonna notice. We don’t even have room!”

“We’ll just have to be sneaky about it. Make creative use of the fire escape or something. Newt’s pretty good at climbing, I think, once the cast…” Theseus stopped abruptly, changing immediately to a new topic, “And he won’t take up a lot of room. He hasn’t got a lot of stuff, he can sleep on the couch, and I’m pretty sure he’s got a good shot at getting a job at the pet shop a couple blocks over. Newt’s fantastic with animals, he probably knows more than everyone in that shop combined. He’ll contribute to rent.”

“And what about _school?_ ”

“That’s why he’d be coming to stay here. I- we- he’s going to be enrolled at the high school nearby.”

Percival cocked an eyebrow at Theseus. “You don’t sound too sure about that.”

“It’s happening. I’m just figuring out how to make it happen.” Theseus sighed.

“Why aren’t your _parents_ figuring out how to make it happen? And, again, why can’t your brother just go home to them?”

“Percy, for _God’s sake_ ,” Theseus ground out, slamming his hand down on the table between them, “I can’t- I can’t answer all these questions right now!”

Instinct told Percival to yell back, but logic dictated that if he didn’t want this to devolve into a screaming match, he ought to react calmly. Theseus glared over at Percival as though he expected his roommate to start yelling, and Percival chewed over a few thoughts before finally letting out a carefully chosen question. “You wouldn’t be bringing him here without a good reason, would you?”

Theseus let out an incredulous laugh. “No, I thought it’d be fun to take in my 16-year-old brother. You know, for shits and giggles.” He ran a hand back through his hair, mussing the curls further, “Percy, I swear, I have a shitload of good reasons. I just- things are happening fast, I need your okay now and I’ll explain later. Please.”

Percival regarded his friend in the low light of the kitchenette. He had met Theseus his first year of college, a fellow criminal justice major and his first dorm mate. Theseus wasn’t a person one would call predictable (or stable, at times, depending on who you asked) but he was dependable and he was loyal and in all the years they’d known each other, through all the crazy shit Theseus had brought down on Percival’s life, Theseus had never once let Percival down. Not when it mattered- and it obviously mattered now.

“Okay.”

Theseus slumped back in his chair, staring blankly up at the ceiling. “ _Thank you_.” He sighed.

“So… when’s he coming?” Percival asked, moving in to finish his forgotten pizza.

“Tomorrow.”

The pizza didn’t quite go down the wrong pipe, but it was a near thing.

-/-/-

The following day, with only one morning class to attend, Percival had helped Theseus clean the apartment up—though Theseus insisted Newt would hardly care, he’d said it while busily vacuuming out the couch, which they had never done, ever, so excuse Percival for not quite believing him—and after a late lunch, Theseus had gone out to retrieve Newt, who was due to arrive shortly by bus. Percival hadn’t questioned why Newt’s parents couldn’t be bothered to drive him; Theseus had promised to answer any and all questions as best he could that evening, once Newt was settled. Percival had never claimed to be the most patient of people, but he could wait when he had to.

At that moment, however, he was growing rather restless. He was wary of sitting on the couch after Theseus had attacked it so thoroughly with the vacuum and didn’t want to start on any class assignments if Theseus and his brother were just going to burst in shortly after Percival had gotten himself set up, anyway, which left Percival irritably pacing the length of the tiny living area. He could wait when he had to but that didn’t mean he would enjoy it.

Finally, the lock on the front door clicked, and Percival could hear Theseus talking already. “…but don’t get used to it, as soon as that thing is off, you’re hauling your own crap around.” Despite the words, he sounded as affectionate as Percival had ever heard him, and Percival waited for the brothers to come into view.

Theseus was first, carrying a duffle bag over one shoulder and wearing a grin that looked strained even to Percival. He raised one hand in a quick hello, holding the door open with the other, allowing the younger Scamander to enter the apartment.

Newt’s appearance was… a surprise. What Percival remembered of Newt was mostly riotous red-brown curls and poor posture, which hadn’t changed much. His hair was much the same, and the boy was still hunched in on himself almost defensively, clutching the handle of an honest-to-god suitcase – the vintage-looking leather kind. The rest of Newt, however, had changed a bit. He’d shot up in height, now hovering just a few inches below Theseus’ six foot one, and it made his long limbs all the more awkward, which the hard plaster cast encasing his left arm did little to help. His face was beginning to show the same handsome planes Percival had seen on his father, the cut of his jaw being his main resemblance to Theseus aside from the hair, though his looks were presently marred by a deep cut on his cheek and the black eye just above it. Percival wondered if the cause of Newt’s injuries had resulted in his expulsion, or if he dared think it was the other way around.

“Newt, you remember Percival? He’s come to a few family things before.” Theseus introduced Percival with a vague wave of his hand, shutting the door as he did so.

Newt nodded, glancing up at Percival before training his eyes on the couch to the right of Percival.

“It’s… good to see you again, Newt.” Percival ventured; he was about to step forward and stick out his hand to shake when he caught sight of Theseus, standing behind Newt and shaking his head vehemently, making a cutting motion across his throat. Percival stayed put.

“It’s nice to you see you again.” Newt parroted, nodding his head.

“Right, so you can keep your clothes in my room, since we don’t really have a _spare_ room. I made some space for you, so you can get that sorted and then I’ll give you the grand tour.” Theseus moved past Newt, gesturing for his brother to follow him down the short hall, “Mind, it’s not so much _grand_ as it is incredibly short, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate knowing where the bathroom is, in any case.”

Percival stood stiffly in the living room, uncertain of what he was supposed to do now, as he listened to Theseus’ muted voice coming from his bedroom. Usually he could hear Theseus from halfway across the apartment and then some, considering the volume of his roommate’s voice and the thin walls of their residence, but it seemed Theseus was intent on toning it down for the day. It set Percival on edge.

When the talking stopped and Theseus appeared in the living area, sans duffle bag, Percival was ready to turn all his questions loose regardless of any earlier agreement. “What the hell _happened_?” He demanded, uncertain if he was referring to Newt in specific or to the situation in general.

Theseus drew himself up. “We- I- whatever, _we_ are going to let Newt get settled, show him around our grand little shoebox of a flat, _remain calm_ for the rest of the afternoon, have a nice dinner, and I will then explain to you _what happened_.”

Percival took in a deep breath and released it slowly. “Theseus… we haven’t had a nice dinner once since we’ve moved into this apartment.”

Theseus snorted. “Fair point. Newt’s not all that hard to please, though. Won’t complain about anything so long as there isn’t meat in it.” Theseus paused, “Come to that, a few things about Newt I’ll tell you now. I’ve been told we’re not really all that alike…”

“I’d never have guessed.”

“And as such, dealing with me has likely not appropriately prepared you for dealing with my brother.” Theseus continued as though Percival hadn’t interrupted, “For starters, he seriously is a vegetarian. Don’t ask him why unless you want a lecture. Second, he doesn’t really do… eye contact. Or physical contact. He’s not being rude, he just- it’s hard for him. So don’t let your delicate sensibilities be offended. You’re also probably not going to get much conversation out of him just now, or really much in general. But it’s not you, so don’t feel bad. And do try not to lose your temper.”

“I’m not going to _lose my temper_.” Percival snapped.

“See, that? Not helping your case, mate.”

Percival released another huff air. “I’m not going to lose my temper with _Newt_. How’s that?”

Theseus shrugged. “Close enough.”

Further conversation was put on hold when Newt came back down the hall and into the living area, glancing up at Theseus as he entered. “Done already? I hope you actually _brought_ clothes, because you’re not nicking my sweatshirts while you’re here.” Theseus told the teenager, his voice exaggerated in jest.

Newt gave Theseus a smile so small that Percival nearly missed it. “Like any of your clothes are clean enough for me to take.” He murmured.

“Oi! I’ll have you know that I do my laundry like a damned adult now.” Theseus insisted.

“He means that he bribes me to do it.” Percival put in before he could stop himself.

Newt glanced over at Percival and his smile widened just a fraction. Percival felt rather gratified.

“Slander!” Theseus feigned offense before turning back to Newt, “Now if everyone is quite done ganging up on me, how about that tour?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a tour, there are some rules, there is adjustment, and there is a lot of coversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the big disparity in chapter lengths. After this, it evens out to between 4 and 5,000ish per chapter

As if to make up for the lack of space, Theseus had gone into great detail as he dragged Newt through his own bedroom—“This is the closet, which I’ve already acquainted you with, and this is the bed, upon which most normal people sleep,”—through the bathroom—“As you can see, we have a toilet, a sink, _and_ a shower; quite a nice room, I think,”—back past Percival’s room—“You won’t want to go in there, you may be crushed to death by criminal justice textbooks; I’m fairly certain he hoards them like a dragon,”—and back into the small living space—“for ease of access, our kitchen is contained within the living room, and if anyone tells you it’s because it’s just cheaper that way, they are terrible liars.” The tour had ended at the window that looked out onto the fire escape, where Theseus demonstrated how to properly latch and unlatch it.

“This is very important because once you’ve got that cast off, we may have to sneak you in and out through the window now and then.” Theseus explained.

Newt looked up at Theseus, appearing rather alarmed.

“And before you ask, I am actually being serious this time. We’re going to have to be a bit… clandestine about you living here since you’re not exactly _supposed_ to be here according to the lease.” Theseus informed him.

Newt balked. “You didn’t _tell_ me that! I don’t want to get you in trouble, I- I can’t…”

“I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d refuse otherwise. It’s not a problem, Newt. It’s not as though you don’t have experience sneaking in and out of places, anyway.” Theseus grinned at his brother, who reddened beneath his freckles.

Percival, who had been following the tour in bemused silence, wondered once more just what Newt had been expelled from school for.

“That was different.” Newt muttered, “I’m not getting you kicked out of your flat.”

“Of course you’re not. That’s precisely why we may need to use the fire escape now and then.” Theseus replied, completely flying past Newt’s point, “Now about the TV, we don’t exactly have the best cable package, but I’m fairly certain we get Animal Planet on this thing.”

Still gaping over the window, it took Newt a moment to catch up with Theseus. “They have those terrible shows about rescuing abused animals. It was a good premise in theory, but they’re making more money off the shock factor of the animals rather than raising awareness of the causes of abuse or the societies that help the animals.”

Percival blinked at Newt. That was a surprisingly… well thought-out argument for a 16-year-old. Theseus, however, didn’t miss a beat, plucking the remote off the second-hand coffee table and handing it to Newt. “Yes, but they also have that madman who wrestles crocodiles and that show with all the puppies and kittens. You like those, don’t you?”

Newt looked back down at the floor. “…They’re _soothing_.”

Theseus nodded. “Right. So, that’s about all I’ve got for you. You can watch TV if you want, lay down for a bit if you’re tired…”

“Is there a park around here?” Newt inquired, so innocently that Percival nearly answered him.

“Ah, right, knew I’d forgotten something.” Theseus sighed, “Ground rules.”

Newt stared determinedly at the floor.

“Look it’s not going to be as bad as…” Theseus shook his head, “I’m not going to ask too much of you, alright? I promise. There are just a few things.”

Newt nodded stiffly, still staring at the floor.

“You’re going to be enrolled in the high school a few blocks from here and obviously all those school things are important; do your homework, try to be on time to class, that sort of thing. Percival and I both work and take classes, so we’d appreciate it if you might just be a bit quiet if one or both of us is asleep. _But_ ,” Theseus paused, “If you _need_ me, wake me up. Honestly, Newt, don’t be afraid to.”

Newt nodded again.

“And lastly, _please_ don’t just go haring off whenever you feel like it. _Tell_ _me_ if you’re going somewhere. That’s all I ask.” Theseus sounded halfway between pleading and exasperated. It wasn’t something Percival had heard from his friend before, and it set him back on edge.

“If Theseus isn’t around,” Percival cleared his throat, attempting to take some of the weight from his friend, “You’re always welcome to ask me. I know we don’t know each other well, but I’ll do my best to help you out if you need it.”

Newt glanced up at Percival and nodded once more. “Thank you.” His voice had gone quiet again.

“Right,” Theseus clapped his hands together, “Now that’s out of the way, what do you think?”

“I’d… just like to do some reading.  If you don’t mind.”

“Nah. Percy and I probably have classwork anyway.” Theseus waved his hand, “Is that why your case was so damned heavy? Did you bring your whole library with you?”

Newt frowned minutely at his brother. “ _I’m_ the one who carried the case… and I didn’t bring the _whole_ library. Just my favorites and the ones I haven’t read yet.”

“So the whole library.” Theseus shook his head.

Newt shook his head in return and followed Theseus back into his room. Percival followed suit and grabbed his book bag from his own room, searching around a moment to find his calculator, before returning to the living area. Theseus had already claimed half the couch with notes from the psych course he was taking that semester, while Newt was curled up on the other end with a battered veterinary science text book of all things. Theseus paid no mind to Percival, but Newt must have seen the way Percival paused upon entering the room, because he immediately removed himself from the couch.

“Hey, you don’t have to…” Percival protested, even as Newt moved around to Theseus’ end of the couch and settled down on the floor beside it, leaning against the side.

“Newt, you don’t have to sit on the floor.” Theseus glanced around the side of the couch.

“I’m fine.” Newt replied, staring resolutely down at the book in his lap.

Theseus sighed and waved Percival over to sit down. “We need a chair in here.”

Percival glanced at the back of Newt’s head, easily visible over the arm of the battered couch, even hunched over as the boy was. “Probably.” Percival admitted, beginning to spread his own books out.

-/-/-

Dinnertime was usually not a set time but the point in the evening at which Theseus grew too restless to sit over his books anymore or Percival grew too hungry to focus, and they gave in and decided to eat. Being that both young men were generally good at ignoring the need for frivolities like food and sleep, however, dinnertime occasionally never actually came. Though with the addition of a teenager to the household, for however long Theseus planned on stashing him there, Percival supposed they might have to be a little more regular about meals. When a glance at his watch told him it was gone 6:30 in the evening, he leaned over and jabbed Theseus in the side with his elbow. “Dinner?”

“Mm?” Theseus glanced over at Percival’s watch, “Oh, right, yes. Dinner! Newt?”

When Newt didn’t respond, Theseus craned his head over the side of the sofa and glanced down at his brother. “Still awake, just very focused.” Theseus muttered. He reached around the side of the couch and waved his hand in front of Newt’s face, causing the boy to jump. “Time for dinner, Newt.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Newt shook his head, unfolding from the position he’d pretzeled himself into on the floor and stretching as much as he was able, then wincing and clutching at his side before immediately dropping his hand.

Theseus and Percival frowned in tandem. “What was that?” Theseus asked.

“…Stretching?” Newt offered.

“What was that face, I mean. You winced.”

“I was sitting on the floor.”

Still frowning, Theseus reached out with one hand, finger extended toward the general area Newt had been clutching. “If it was just from sitting on the floor, surely it won’t hurt if I…”

“ _No_ ,” Newt scrambled back, “They’re only bruises, that’s it. Only bruises.”

“ _Newt_ ,” Theseus sighed.

“You should have said something,” Percival insisted, though he decidedly didn’t _frown_ at Newt, “I would’ve let you sit on the couch. You shouldn’t be hunched over like that with bruised ribs.”

“They don’t hurt much. They’ll heal.” Newt gave a sort of half shrug.

“Not if you keep- never mind.” Theseus shook his head, “Look, just- sit on the couch from now on, I’ll take the floor. Or I’ll make Percy take it if I really don’t feel like it.”

Percival cut a look at Theseus that was completely ignored. “Anyway, what do you want to eat? There’s a great Chinese place that delivers, or we could get pizza. Or possibly some third option I’m honestly too lazy to consider.”

“I don’t really have a preference.” Newt shook his head.

“Hm,” Theseus looked from Newt to Percival, “Percy?”

“There’s still pizza in the fridge. How about Chinese?” Percival wasn’t exactly keen on either, as they ended up eating out more often than he would’ve liked, but he supposed Chinese was the lesser of two evils.

“Right. I think we still have one of the menus around here somewhere.” Theseus ambled over to the kitchen, gesturing vaguely behind himself as he went, “Newt, sit down would you? On the _sofa_.”

Newt did so, looking decidedly uncomfortable beside Percival as Theseus clattered around in the kitchen, opening and closing various drawers and cupboards while muttering to himself alternately about bruises and excessive takeout menus. Percival did his best to seem unthreatening as he gathered up some of his classwork; he’d never felt particularly threatening just by _being_ , but he was beginning to get the shape of Newt and he didn’t like what he saw. He added more questions to the pile he was going to dump on Theseus later that night.

“Ah! Some bloody idiot pinned it to the refrigerator.” Theseus returned, waving the menu around, “Whose idea was it to put it in plain sight where I could actually see it?”

“Yours.” Percival replied, moving a notebook out of the way just before Theseus wedged himself onto the couch between Percival and Newt.

“Well someone ought to do something about me. Here,” Theseus passed the menu over to Newt, “Percy and I have it more or less memorized, but you can pick whatever you like. They’ve got vegetarian options.”

Newt perked up a bit at that, picking the menu over until he decided on the vegetable fried rice and relayed his choice to Theseus for ordering.

The rest of the evening was spent munching on takeout while watching reruns of “the madman who wrestles crocodiles” while Newt quietly assured them that none of the animals were ever hurt.

-/-/-

When Newt had been set up as comfortably as possible on the couch—they didn’t have much in the way of spare blankets and pillows, which Theseus had insisted he’d remedy soon—and the apartment seemed to settle for the evening, Percival made his way down the hall, knocking quietly at Theseus’ door and entering when permission was given.

“That was a hell of a show you put on today. I think you almost had him convinced you’re not too worried.” Percival said, watching Theseus collapse back on his bed.

“Bloody motherfuck, I’m exhausted,” Theseus exhaled, running a hand over his face, “And I don’t think Newt was fooled for a moment. Hard to say for sure with him.”

“Mm,” Percival nodded, “Seems like a nice kid.”

“Too nice.” Theseus muttered.

“Smart.” Percival continued.

“Too smart.” Theseus huffed.

“Just what the hell happened?” Percival asked finally.

There was a beat of silence. “You know, that’s a very broad question.”

“ _Theseus_.”

“Yes, _alright_ , for god’s sake, call off the Grave Stare.” Theseus waved his hand.

“One day I’ll make you sorry for coining that phrase. It’s not even clever.” Percival huffed, moving over to Theseus’ bed and giving the other man a shove, “Move over. I get the feeling this is going to be a long conversation.”

“Only if you want it to be. I could give you a very abbreviated version,” Theseus let out a humorless laugh, “Who am I talking to? Of course you need details… where do I start?”

“Could start with the broken arm and the busted face and the bruised ribs.” Percival suggested.

“That comes more towards the end, I think.”

“Could start with why he got expelled.”

“That’s more of a middle part, if you really want to know why he’s all beat up.”

Percival sighed. “Well if you know which parts come at the end and which parts are in the middle, then you probably know where to start.”

“Right,” Theseus sighed, “Right.”

There was another moment of silence and Percival allowed it as Theseus gathered his thoughts.

“Newt was… an odd kid. Weird, I thought at the time. I mean, I was five when he was born and my parents gave me all this about how I was the older brother and I had to look after my younger brother but as Newt got older, that got… hard. He kept doing things I didn’t understand. Didn’t know how to make him _behave_ like my parents wanted. Sure he was quiet enough most of the time, but little things would set him off—I was about 10 and he was 5 and he was wailing about how things weren’t supposed to _be like that_. Had no idea what he was on about. Got overwhelmed easily; sometimes he’d just cover his ears, even when it wasn’t all that loud. Sit and rock back and forth or hum. Move his hands funny when he was excited,” Theseus demonstrated, flapping his hand back and forth, “And my parents didn’t like it, told him to stop it, except it didn’t really seem like he could. By the time he started primary school, the teachers mentioned how my parents might want to have him _assessed_. So they did. And they weren’t terribly pleased with the diagnosis.”

“Autism.” Percival replied.

“Textbook.” Theseus cocked his head, “Well, there’s not really a _textbook_ case of it, but he had a lot of the hallmarks. And it’s not like he was… hard to _handle_ or anything. He just wasn’t good with people, needed quiet sometimes, that sort of thing. But my parents didn’t like it because there wasn’t a _cure_.”

Percival grimaced. He’d be the first to admit he didn’t have much firsthand experience with mental disorders, but any time he heard people going on about _curing_ them, like some sort of holy crusade, it left a sour taste in his mouth.

“Our mum didn’t… she didn’t do much one way or the other. She breeds horses, I think I’ve mentioned.”

“Thus sealing your fate as a posh asshole.” Percival returned with the familiarity of years of teasing.

“Oh fuck off, Graves, as if your family doesn’t have money.” Theseus rolled his eyes.

“Yes, but my mother doesn’t breed horses.”

“I’m still not sure how you’ve come to the conclusion that _that_ was the final nail in the coffin, but whatever.” Theseus shook his head, “She had her horses in England, she had horses again when we moved here for my father’s job. And she was pleased that Newt took an interest in the horses. He liked helping with them and he’s _good_ with them. Likes pretty much every animal you can think of and knows just about everything there is to know about them.

“Not to say he hasn’t gotten himself bitten and scratched over the years. A lot. But it was never the animal’s fault, _no_ , it was Newt. He moved too fast, he spooked them, he provoked them; it was never their fault, it was _his_. Still haven’t figured out if that’s an idea Newt picked up on his own or if it’s… something they put in him.”

Theseus paused again. “The rest isn’t… easy to admit to. Never liked admitting I was wrong.”

Percival raised a curious eyebrow at his friend and Theseus shrugged. “Like I said, our mum never did much one way or the other. Liked that Newt took an interest in the horses, was a bit irritated by everything else he did, and more or less let me be about most things. Our father… has much higher standards. And I won’t- I won’t pretend he didn’t knock me around a bit when I was a kid. I just- it was so much easier for me to understand what he wanted and pretend to be that person until I was old enough to get out. It was a lot harder for Newt to get it. I tried to help, but… soon enough I got sent off to school and _fuck_ was I glad to be out of there. Had to keep up my grades and extracurriculars and _do the family proud_ , but it was still so much less suffocating. But I left Newt to fend for himself.”

“You couldn’t help it,” Percival insisted, “Unless you had a choice in being sent away to school.”

“Well I didn’t have to be so fucking happy about it.” Theseus huffed, “I’d come home for holidays and in the summer and Newt just… withdrew. Every time I came back, it was worse and worse. I’d try to cheer him up while I was home, but… I don’t know, I told myself I could only do so much, but I still wonder if I ever did enough.”

“Shouldn’t have been your job.”

Theseus snorted. “You don’t get it, Perce, you don’t have brothers or sisters.”

“I’m still failing to see where you’re at fault here.” Percival pointed out.

Theseus reached up and twisted his fingers in his hair, giving a wordless growl of frustration. “I _left!_ ”

“Theseus, you didn’t…”

“I mean, I tell myself I fucking _tried_ , I picked a school close to home so I could come back and visit, I tried to keep calling and emailing and- but it still wasn’t enough because look what happened!” Theseus snarled, “I _knew_ he was in trouble, I _knew_ he always got it worse, I _knew_ there was something wrong at school, I _knew_ , Percy, and I sat on my ass and did fuckall!”

“You got him here, didn’t you?” Percival returned quickly, “He’s here now. He’s safe with you.”

Theseus’ hands tightened in his hair. “I…”

“And if you keep yelling, you’re going to wake him up.” Percival continued, “And if you keep yanking your hair like that, you’re going to go bald before you hit 25.”

After a moment, Theseus loosened his grip and let his hands slide from his hair, now more askew than ever. “Appealing to my vanity. Don’t know if I should be offended.” Theseus smirked at Percival.

“Appealing to your common sense.” Percival corrected, “And you should definitely be offended. What happened at school?”

Theseus sighed. “I don’t know for sure. I mean- the usual, y’know, Newt’s different, he had bullies. Liked spending time on the grounds of the school rather than with people. The school insists he heralded some sort of prank that got another student hurt, but- Newt would never.” Theseus shook his head, “Kid’s a shit awful liar, sounded like he was taking the blame, but hell if I could get him to admit it. He won’t even… Anyway, he had enough _disciplinary problems_ on his record that the school had no problem pinning him with the whole thing and kicking him out.”

Percival gave Theseus a dubious look. “Disciplinary problems?”

Theseus shrugged. “Like I said, he liked spending time on the grounds. Told me once he didn’t feel like he could stand being around so many people. He cut class a few times. Got in trouble for trying to hide _animals_ in his dorm a few more times.”

“Animals.”

“He’d find injured animals out on the grounds and try to help them,” Theseus snorted, “Succeeded pretty often, too. That was one of the few things I could get him to talk about when we were both home. He got caught far less often than he actually did it. Did get in trouble for bringing back an abandoned nest of baby bunnies, though.”

Pursing his lips, Percival wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not. “He… brought an entire nest of baby rabbits into his dorm room. Which I assume was shared.”

“He assured me that he made absolutely certain the mother wasn’t returning,” Theseus said faintly, “They caught him, of course. Too hard to hide a gaggle of rabbits like that for long, even for him. That was close to the summer holidays and he was… fucking distraught for weeks. Said they took the rabbits away, wouldn’t tell him what they did with them.”

“With a record like that, it’s no wonder they wanted him out.” Percival shook his head.

“I’m half certain he was doing it on purpose. He hated that place.” Theseus paused, levelling Percival with a serious look, “But I’m completely certain Newt didn’t do what they were accusing him of. He would never hurt somebody else, and certainly not for a _prank_.”

Percival rolled his shoulders in a lazy sort of shrug. “But he’s still been expelled. And it doesn’t sound like he’d want to go back even if there was a chance they’d let him.”

“Mm,” Theseus sat up and shuffled back until he was sitting propped against the wall, staring thoughtfully at nothing, “I’ll figure out how to get him enrolled in the high school. Apparently it was mentioned in the expulsion hearing.”

“Good plan.” Percival nodded, despite the fact it was barely a plan at all, “So what about the cast?”

Theseus’ gaze was still unfocused, mind apparently lost in the throes of school paperwork. “Cast’ll be off in four to six weeks, they said.”

“Theseus,” Percival reached over and nudged his friend in the side, “Why does he _have_ a cast?”

Theseus continued to stare. Percival was about to poke him again, further demanding an answer, when Theseus sighed. He ran a hand over his face, propping his elbow on his knee and resting his head on his hand. “I had no idea things had gotten so bad,” He said, “I haven’t been home in… what? Weeks? A couple of months? And even before that, I wasn’t around much.”

“You’ve been busy.” Percival reminded him, “You have your own life.”

“No excuses.” Theseus shook his head, “I love Newt, but I couldn’t stand being around my parents. And I figured… Newt’s at school, he’s safe. Never mind he was miserable at school, he was at least safe from Dad. And then my mum called yesterday while you were at class.

I hauled ass down to the hospital, where she tells me some bullshit story about how the boys at school jumped Newt when he was picking up the last of his belongings. And then he tried to hide it from Mum and Dad, and that’s why his injuries weren’t treated immediately, and… it was obvious she didn’t even believe what she was saying, but Newt wouldn’t say anything against it.”

Percival and Theseus were both students of criminal justice and they both knew the statistics, how few victims would speak against their abusers, but Percival doubted it made little difference in application to one’s own life. Theseus certainly didn’t seem to feel any better about it.

“Fact is, while I was off with my head up my ass, things got to the point where my dad could break Newt’s arm and my mum could lie about it without batting an eyelash.”

“Theseus…”

“So when she told me they were considering hiring a private tutor and homeschooling Newt because the school in the city was so far away, I jumped on the opportunity and offered to have Newt come live here- decided before I’d even asked you.” Theseus gave Percival a rueful smile, “But I couldn’t let Newt stay there. Couldn’t.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.” Percival shook his head, “You did… that was a good thing you did, Theseus. Seriously.”

“Hm.”

“And no matter how many times I say it wasn’t your fault, you’re going to find some way to twist the blame back on yourself, aren’t you?”

“Hm.”

Percival sighed, turning and leaning back against the wall beside Theseus. “I probably should’ve warned you that I’m terrible with teenagers. No fucking idea what to do with them.”

Theseus snorted. “You get antsy around the freshmen on campus.”

“I don’t know what the hell to do with them! I look at them and wonder how we could have ever been that young and stupid.”

“You are, at best, about three years older than the freshmen on campus, Percy. We’re both still young and stupid.”

“And yet,” Percival jabbed his finger accusingly at the room at large, “They are younger and somehow stupider.”

Theseus huffed out a laugh. “Saw a freshman stumbling home from some party the other night, when I stayed late at the library. Had his coat on backwards and his hat tied to his ass.”

“At least he wasn’t trying to walk home with mittens on his feet.” Percival snorted.

“For fuck’s sake, I wouldn’t have had to shove mittens on my feet if you hadn’t stolen my bloody shoes!”

“I needed them.”

“You tied them together and threw them at the idiot singing karaoke.”

Percival nodded solemnly. “Like I said. I needed them.”

“You got us kicked out of the bar.” Theseus pointed out, “ _Without_ my shoes.”

“Well that’s why we don’t go drinking anymore.” Percival shrugged.

“Among other reasons.” Theseus chuckled, “Speaking of, I have class in the morning. Think you’ll be alright with Newt for a few hours?”

“As long as he doesn’t expect Theseus-levels of interaction, sure.” Percival shrugged, “I told you, I don’t know what the fuck to do with teenagers.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure Newt doesn’t know what the fuck to do with people in general, so at least you’ll be in like company.” Theseus patted Percival’s arm, “Give him a book or the remote or let him hole up in my room if he wants to. Just don’t let him out of the apartment.”

“He’s not going to try and sneak out, is he?” Percival asked, glancing over at Theseus.

“Only if he senses weakness.”

Despite years of acquaintance with Theseus Scamander, Percival could not for the life of him tell if the man was joking or not.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percival and Newt spend time together, Theseus talks to his mother, and Percival goes to work.

Percival didn’t normally care for early hours. He took morning classes when he had to and otherwise faced anything before 11 AM with caffeine-fueled spite.

Theseus was an unrepentant morning person and took morning classes whenever possible because then his afternoons were free and honestly Percival still wasn’t sure Theseus was human because he got all his morning energy from _tea_. Theoretically, it had caffeine in it, but Theseus has told Percival lies about England before and Percival was wary of most of what Theseus told him that wasn’t already common knowledge. In any case, the point was, Theseus’ psych class was at eight in morning for some mind-bending reason and Percival had to force himself to get up in time to see him off, just to be sure neither he nor Newt were caught unaware by one another.

To Percival’s consternation, both Scamanders were already sitting at what passed for the kitchen table, hands wrapped around respective mugs of tea.

“Not you, too,” Percival grumbled, gesturing vaguely to Newt’s cup, “With the tea.”

“I got very used to drinking it at home.” Newt replied softly, staring into his cup.

“Come now, Percy, just because you can’t enjoy a nice cuppa doesn’t mean Newt can’t, either.” Theseus watched with barely contained mirth as Percival set about making coffee, “We can’t all acquire a taste for that bitter muck you like to call a drink.”

“Actually, I really don’t mind coffee.”

Percival felt he might have enjoyed the sight of Theseus nearly inhaling his drink if he’d been more awake, but he stowed the memory away for later amusement as Newt continued.

“I got used to drinking it at school.”

“ _Why_ ,” Theseus stared over at his brother, “Would you go and do a thing like drink coffee when they had perfectly adequate tea in the cafeteria?”

“They actually don’t have tea in the cafeteria anymore.” Newt replied, interrupting himself with a short sip from his mug, “I think they stopped stocking it the moment you graduated and stopped demanding it.”

Percival couldn’t help the amused snort of laughter that worked its way out and Theseus threw a balled-up napkin at him, scowling. “Shove it, Graves. If you found yourself in a school in England where all they served was _tea_ when you were used to _coffee_ , you would find a way to make coffee happen.”

“I did miss this, though.” Newt glanced to Theseus then back at his cup, “We never have my favorite kind at home.”

“That’s because Mum and Dad have appalling taste in drinks,” Theseus replied readily, “Now, how about breakfast?”

Breakfast was far less of a production than dinner, mostly beginning and ending with Theseus giving Newt the last of the breakfast cereal, stating that he should have it because he was still growing and needed nutrients and the cereal probably had vitamins in it, or something. Percival and Theseus ate the last of the leftover pizza, because they were adults and could eat what they wanted- so said Theseus. Personally speaking, Percival would have far preferred cereal to the not altogether pleasant combination of coffee and cold pizza, but he didn’t mind giving over the last of it to Newt for at least one morning. They’d been putting off grocery shopping far too long, anyway.

The most important meal of the day over with, Theseus gathered up his belongings and made for the door. “Alright, I have class until noon and then I’m going to go speak with Mum about getting you enrolled in a new school.”

Newt glanced from Theseus to Percival and back again. “I thought you were only going to be gone for the morning?”

“Figured I ought to catch Mum when Dad isn’t home. Be easier that way. I’ll be back before Percy has to head to work.” Theseus assured Newt, as though it would be much comfort, “Try to make sure you eat something for lunch. I’m not actually sure what in the kitchen is still edible, so use your best judgement.”

With that inspiring line, Theseus bid both Newt and Percival goodbye and headed out, leaving them to their own devices.

Newt stared into the depths of his near-empty cereal bowl while Percival attempted to finish off his coffee without appearing to be in a hurry. He refused to be awkward about this.

At least any more awkward than it already was.

Percival could handle spending time with his best friend’s kid brother. The kid seemed polite enough, anyway, and quiet, and Percival was by now fairly certain Theseus had been joking about Newt sensing weakness. Not that there would be any weakness to sense, because Percival could absolutely handle this. Absolutely. Percival was, in fact, so deep into assuring himself that he could handle things that he very nearly missed it when Newt muttered something from across the table.

“What?” Percival put his cup down, focusing on Newt.

Newt slouched further down in his seat. “I said ‘sorry’.”

“Why?” Percival demanded, before he remembered to soften his tone a bit- Theseus always joked that Percival was just made to interrogate people, “Why are you sorry?”

“I know Theseus just sort of… drags people into his plans without checking if they actually want to participate,” Newt paused, still scrutinizing the dregs of his cereal, “Actually, I’ve been told that’s a shared trait. But I know this all happened very suddenly and I’m sorry. I really don’t want to be a bother, so please let me know. If I’m bothering you. And I’ll stop.”

Okay, no, Percival could not handle this. He wasn’t good at reassurance and he definitely wasn’t good at it at 7:30 in the morning. Percival took another gulp of coffee and considered getting up for more.

“I wouldn’t have agreed if I didn’t want to.” Percival said finally, “So don’t be sorry. None of this is your fault.”

Newt let out an amused huff. “I rather think getting expelled makes it at least somewhat my fault.”

“From what Theseus said, it doesn’t sound like it was as much your fault as you’re making it out to be.” Percival replied, “I don’t know what happened—and you don’t have to tell me—but I don’t doubt your brother’s word. He’s a pain in the ass, but he’s not a liar.”

That, at least, drew something more of a laugh from Newt. “Well… still, I don’t want to intrude. Please tell me if I’m bothering you.”

Percival definitely needed more coffee for this conversation. “Kid, you’re not going to bother me.” He insisted as he headed for the coffee pot.

“No, you’ve only just met me.” Newt shook his head, “I’m very irritating.”

Newt sounded for all the world as if he believed what he was saying with full conviction, and though Percival searched the boy’s half-hidden face for any sign of jest, he didn’t find any. Something like anger twisted in the bottom of Percival’s stomach. Just who the hell had managed to fully convince this kid he was so unlikable? Percival cleared his throat and refilled his mug from the pot. “Newt, I’ve been living with your brother for three years. I’m pretty sure most people are less irritating than him.”

“People like Theseus. He’s _charming_.” Newt shook his head again.

Percival snorted. “Whoever thinks he’s charming hasn’t seen him fall asleep drooling on his homework.”

Glancing over again, Percival could see that same small smile from the day before pushing its way onto Newt’s face, and he awarded himself a point. “So. Any plans for today?” He asked, taking a deep pull from his mug.

“Oh, uh. No, not really. Theseus said I’m not allowed to leave the apartment and that I can’t sit on the floor until my ribs heal, but other than that…” Newt shrugged, “I should shower at some point, I think. Do you happen to have any trash bags?”

Percival blinked, caught off guard by the apparent non-sequitur before he remembered the cast on Newt’s arm. Right. Couldn’t get that wet. “Yeah, they’re…” Percival kicked open one of the bottom drawers with a socked foot, glancing inside, “In here.”

“Brilliant. Do you mind if I…” Newt stood from the table, gesturing to the drawer, then in the vague direction of the bathroom.

Percival shrugged, going for another sip of coffee. He was in no hurry. “Be my guest.”

“Thank you.” Newt nodded and moved toward the drawer, only to double back and place his bowl in the sink, fill it with water, then make his way back to the promised garbage bags.

Though many of Newt’s expressions seemed minute, it was hard to miss the heavy wince that bending over produced, and Percival’s brows drew together in concern, even as Newt straightened up and his expression cleared.

“Newt,” It didn’t really cross Percival’s mind that it might not be his place to ask Newt for further details on his injuries – in fact, it was possible Theseus would hit him over the head for _not_ inquiring further if Percival suspected something was wrong, “Did you have your ribs _checked_ when you went to the doctor?”

Newt frowned, fiddling with one edge of the trash bag. “Yes. Had to take my shirt off to get at my arm and they saw my ribs.” Newt gave a small sort of half shrug, continuing to speak though his gaze was trained on the bag in his hands, “Probably wouldn’t have mentioned it, honestly; I can tell the difference between bruised and cracked ribs.”

If that wasn’t a worrying statement, Percival didn’t know what was.

“Do you need anything for…” Percival gestured to Newt’s face and torso as a whole, “All that?”

“Oh, I’ve got the bag, thank you, now I just need to find a way to make it watertight.” Newt shook his head, considering the bag thoughtfully.

“I meant painkillers. Anti-inflammatories?” Percival sighed, “Your face is still a bit, uh- swollen.”

“Oh.” Newt reached up and ghosted a hand over the bruised side of his face, as if he’d completely forgotten about it, then ducked his head, “I- sorry, that’s- probably not a pleasant thing to look at, sorry. They said the bruises should heal up quickly as long as I don’t agitate them and then you won’t have to…”

“Newt,” Percival cut across the boy’s rambling, “I just meant it looked painful. We have ibuprofen, if you can take that.”

Newt glanced up at Percival, searching his face longer than Percival really thought an honest statement of concern warranted, before he looked back down. “Of course. I would appreciate that. Thank you.”

Percival nodded, leaving his mug on the counter to lead the way to the bathroom, where he plied Newt with two ibuprofen tabs from the cabinet and a cup of water. Newt swallowed them quickly and nodded his thanks once more.

“And- I’m sorry, just one more thing, you don’t happen to have any large rubber bands lying around, do you?”

“I’m… not sure.” Percival replied after a moment, watching Newt inspect the trash bag he’d carried in with them, “We have duct tape.”

Newt made a noise of disapproval, shaking his head slightly. “Duct tape isn’t quite water-proof. And it leaves residue. I thought I might be able to use a sturdy rubber band to tie off the bag,” He gestured vaguely, “Bit like a tourniquet. I wasn’t sure what sort of office supplies you and Theseus kept around, though.”

Office supplies were definitely Percival’s territory as far as apartment stocking went. Theseus had never been good about remembering where he’d left pens or paperclips or about putting staples back in the stapler once he’d used them up, nor did he really care, but Percival liked to have everything accounted for and felt what he thought was rather undue embarrassment for not knowing whether or not there were any big rubber bands around. “I can check my desk, but I don’t think we have any.” Percival replied at last.

Newt shook his head again. “That’s fine, never mind. Electrical tape?” He glanced up at Percival, “Fairly certain I can make do with that.”

Searching his memory over, Percival nodded. “Under the kitchen sink. I’ll go grab it.”

Percival was out in the hallway, off to do get the tape as promised, when something about Newt’s bizarre and determined brand of resourcefulness struck him. “Hey,” He stuck his head back into the bathroom, ignoring the startled jump he incited, “Have you had a cast on before?”

“No,” Newt smiled ruefully, “If I had, I’d have thought of all of this sooner.”

Percival shook his head, turning back out into the hallway. “Of course you would.” He muttered to himself. He really had to talk to Theseus about his brother’s priorities.

-/-/-

Not for the first time, Theseus bemoaned the day his mother had talked his father into buying a house in the country so she could continue breeding horses. On the one hand, taking care of the horses had kept Newt in their mother’s better graces for years, and the long drive from both the college and, more recently, Theseus’ apartment meant he had an excuse to visit less often. On the other hand, it took a damned hour to get out to the house and Theseus hated long drives. The whole thing was honestly impractical for everyone _but_ Rhiannon Scamander; the house was miles from the nearest school, making boarding school or private tutoring the only options for Newt and Theseus, and it was at least an hour to the city where Samuel Scamander had been offered the job that moved the lot of them to the States in the first place.

But Rhiannon had her horses and she was happy.

Theseus didn’t even bother heading to the house once he’d parked, but walked straight around back to where the fields and stables could be found. His father was back in the city for at least one more day, having taken to staying there during the week when meetings ran long and coming home for the evening would have been too much bother, taking extended stays at the house mostly on weekends and holidays, which meant Theseus’ mother was likely to be out with the horses (though she was likely to be found with the horses no matter what day of the week it was, it was _more_ likely she’d be with them if her husband was away).

“Mum?” Theseus let himself into the stables, taking a quick look around, “You in here?”

An insistent shushing noise came from one of the stalls, followed by the appearance of a tall woman in work clothes. “You’ll spook them.”

“Sorry.” Theseus dropped his voice a bit, something he was quite capable of no matter what Percival argued.

“Your father is rather upset with you right now, Theseus. I’m not sure he’d like you being here.”

“But he isn’t here right now, is he?” Theseus countered, “I came to see you, anyway.”

Rhiannon Scamander was a regal woman, tall and straight-backed with high cheekbones and a mane of golden-red hair that both her sons had inherited a touch of. Her striking features were always held in an impassive mask, her thoughts really only ever given away by the wide, expressive eyes that she shared with Newt. Even so, it was difficult to tell for certain what she was thinking at any given time; her mind was grounded firmly in the stables with her horses, everything else coming as a sort of afterthought, and Theseus had resigned himself to coming second many years ago. As it was now, Rhiannon’s eyes were trained on the horse she was presently grooming. “What did you need?” She asked finally.

“I need your help getting Newt into school.” Theseus replied readily, “I’m not his legal guardian, you or dad will have to be there to enroll him.”

Rhiannon hummed absently. “It would have been so much easier if you’d just let us hire a tutor for Newt. You wouldn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

Theseus stifled a noise of frustration. “Mum.” He rounded the stall, attempting to enter his mother’s line of sight, “ _Mum_ , Newt’s arm is _broken_. His ribs are bruised, his face is a mess. And neither of you seemed terribly fazed by it. You can’t tell me you think the safest place for Newt is _here_.”

“The horses miss him.” Rhiannon replied, “I’m sure he misses them, too.”

“ _Horses_ \- Horses aren’t enough. I know you don’t want to involve yourself with— how nasty Dad has apparently become, but can’t you just think about Newt for a minute?” Theseus did his best to keep his voice level, but he wasn’t sure how long he’d last.

“Newt… Newt was never as good as you at pleasing your father. He doesn’t understand what your father wants out of him.” Rhiannon said after a moment.

“ _Don’t_.” Theseus lowered his voice in warning, “Don’t you dare try to say it was Newt— that he _deserved_ — that it was _his fault_.”

Rhiannon shook her head. “It’s not Newt’s fault. He’s sick. He can’t help himself.”

“There’s nothing wrong with him!” Theseus snapped, attempting to lower his voice again at his mother’s warning look, “Just because you and Dad couldn’t magically _cure_ Newt by sending him to doctor after doctor doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with him. He’s just… different.”

A sad sort of smile tugged at Rhiannon’s lips. “You always were so protective over him.”

_Because you never were_ , Theseus wanted so badly to shout, but he held onto the thought. He needed his mother to agree to help him, and she would never do it if she was on the defensive.

“I’m proud of you.” Rhiannon announced after a minute, “Even though you were never very interested in the horses, and you somehow got it into your head to go out and do something dangerous with your life, you’ve become a fine young man.”

“Newt is every bit as good. And he deserves better than what he’s had so far.” Theseus sighed, “He deserves to go back to school, maybe actually make some friends, have a little more freedom… please help me with this, Mum. _Please_.”

Silence rang out over the stables, broken only by the faint sounds of the animals, until Rhiannon looked up, locking eyes with her eldest son. “What do I need to do?”

-/-/-

It was past three o’ clock when Theseus returned to the apartment, finding Percival sitting on the couch studying and Newt sitting on the other end reading from the old textbook he’d had the previous night. I was unclear if the stiffness of Newt’s posture was caused by having to spend the better part of the day with someone who was, essentially, a stranger, or if he was only attempting to keep pressure off his ribs. Possibly both.

“Mum is going to come up on Monday to help get you enrolled in school.” Theseus said as he shucked his coat and hung it by the door, “If everything goes well, we should have you back in classes within the next week or two.”

“That’s…” Newt glanced up from his book for just a moment, “Great. Thank you.”

Theseus ignored the pause between Newt’s words and ambled across the living area to drop his bag by the coffee table. “It might not be anything as fancy as what you’re used to, but I’m sure they’ll at least have a few biology courses for you to take. Maybe you’ll get to dissect something interesting.”

Newt tilted his head to the side, still apparently absorbed in his book. “Maybe.”

At that, Percival looked up from his own text book to glance at Newt. “I thought you were a vegetarian?”

“I am.”

“Why would you want to dissect an animal if you refuse to eat them?” Percival noticed too late that Theseus was frantically shaking his head once more.

“There is a difference between dissecting a creature for learning purposes and killing things en masse to produce more food than we, as a population, seem to consume.” Newt looked up from his book again, this time unerringly looking to Percival, “The animals brought in for dissection, for instance, died from natural causes- of course, that wasn’t always the case, but the history of science is full of really very unpleasant practices, some of which still need to be corrected. Animals we eat, however, are most often kept in conditions that are stressful at best and cruel at worst. They…”

“Percy!” Theseus cut in, a note of forced surprise in his voice, “Don’t you need to be off to work?”

“Ah, right.” Percival glanced at his watch and began to gather up his books and notes, “Maybe you can try to put me off meat some other time, Newt.”

“I wasn’t trying to put you off meat, I just…”

“Joking,” Percival assured him, standing from the couch, “I was only joking. I do need to get ready for work, though.”

“Right.” Newt looked as if he meant to say more, but turned back to his book instead, nodding his head.

As soon as Percival vacated the couch, Theseus happily slid into his spot and sprawled across most of the space in a way that seemed calculated to annoy his younger brother. “Did I miss anything interesting today?”

“Your apartment is distinctly lacking in strong rubber bands.” Newt replied, shoving Theseus’ foot out of his personal space, “And you need more electrical tape.”

Theseus responded with something about how he knew Newt would feel right at home that Percival missed most of as he returned to his room. Depositing his schoolwork on the tiny desk in the corner of his room, Percival moved to the equally cramped closet to retrieve a pair of slacks and a button down shirt. Even taking into account the time it took to do his hair properly, it was usually the work of minutes to make himself presentable enough for an office, and Percival had never much envied the women he saw walking around with fully done makeup – no matter how skilled they were at applying it, Percival was sure it ate up time.

When Percival reemerged into the living area, straightening his collar, Theseus had already pulled a thick sheaf of notes from his bag and was thumbing through it in the way Percival recognized as reviewing for an upcoming test. “Have a nice day at work, Percy.” Theseus waved him off as one might wish their significant other a good day, favoring him with a teasing smile, “We’ll try to save you some of the leftover Chinese.”

“Thanks,” Percival rolled his eyes as he shrugged his coat on, “I’m getting sick of leftovers, though. Someone is going shopping tomorrow, I don’t care who. Try to make up a list if you come for air from your review.”

Theseus hummed absently, leaving Percival to wonder if his friend was already lost in his notes or if he was just being blatantly brushed off- either was possible, considering how much Theseus disliked making up shopping lists. Percival shook his head, checked his pockets for his keys and wallet, and headed out.

-/-/-

The part-time filing and data-entry job Percival worked for the city was one he’d landed through accidental nepotism, and had nearly quit upon realizing it. Being the son of a high-ranking government official had its perks, of which Percival generally wanted nothing to do with; nothing against his father, but Percival was insistent that he would make it without his family’s influence or money. When he’d learned that it was his name that had helped cement the decision to hire him on, Percival had been just about ready to go in and resign when Theseus had reminded him that they _both_ needed jobs if they intended on moving out of their college dorm. Integrity was all well and good, but Theseus had suggested that, perhaps, instead of turning down a surprisingly well-paid part time position with flexible hours, maybe Percival could show that he was _more_ than his family name through hard work and dedication.

It had been a thin argument and Percival had scowled at Theseus for a week, but it had worked all the same.

The job itself, though nothing special, was something Percival almost enjoyed. It was ridiculously easy, but in being so it gave Percival time to think, and sometimes even left him enough time to get in some studying. His coworkers were all tolerable enough, competent in their work and usually willing to leave Percival to his own devices unless they needed something.

All of them except for Seraphina Picquery.

“You owe me an explanation.” Seraphina greeted Percival when he entered the office. Everyone else was conveniently absent, ostensibly running files to other parts of the building.

Percival held back a sigh. “Am I allowed to take my coat off, or would you like to interrogate me right this minute?”

The young woman crossed her arms, fixing Percival with an impatient look, but took a more relaxed stance leaning against one of the desks in the cramped office. Percival took it as a sign to put his things down before giving the demanded explanation.

Seraphina was a fellow student at Percival’s university, majoring in political science. They had crossed paths a few times and found that their mutually high work ethic tended to mesh in a way that made everyone else productive out of self-defense. It had been Seraphina who had recommended the empty job position to Percival in the first place, and they had since become friends of sorts, which was why it was Seraphina who Percival had called to cover his shift the previous day when he thought Theseus might need help getting his brother settled. She hadn’t asked for a reason why, then, but Percival supposed he should have looked at it as less of a blessing and more of a stay of execution.

“You don’t take days off,” Seraphina commented once Percival had deposited his things at his desk, “The last time you were out was when your roommate forced you to take a sick day because you had a fever of 102.”

Percival remembered that; he’d been upset with Theseus at the time, but once his fever broke and he was thinking more clearly he had admitted it was probably a good decision.

He spent a few moments considering how much he could tell Seraphina; it wasn’t really Percival’s story to tell, and there were various less than legal aspects of the situation which the woman might latch onto if Percival didn’t head her off. He mentally shored the facts down a bit before starting with the basics. “My roommate’s younger brother is staying with us for a while.”

“And how does that warrant the need for a day off?” Seraphina prompted, more curious than sharp.

“He asked me to help him get his brother settled. And it was… short notice. He didn’t find out until the day before yesterday, and I didn’t find out until that evening.”

“ _Very_ short notice.” Seraphina cocked one perfectly-groomed eyebrow in question, “What happened?”

“Theseus wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the details himself, but the short of it is that his brother was expelled from school.” Percival turned away slightly, watching Seraphina nod out of the corner of his eye as he logged into the computer.

“So his parents kicked him out.” Seraphina concluded after a moment.

“No,” Percival considered his words carefully for a moment, “Theseus saw fit to remove his brother from his parents’ care for the time being.”

Seraphina was quiet for a moment. “How very diplomatic.”

“I try my best.”

“Mhm. And how old is Theseus’ younger brother?”

Percival shrugged. “About sixteen.”

“I see. So, if I have this straight,” Seraphina began to approach Percival’s desk, “Scamander the younger, who is sixteen, was expelled from school and Theseus made a very sudden decision to take his brother in, likely without _actually_ consulting you first.”

“He did ask.” Percival looked over at his friend, “He’d obviously already decided, but he did ask.”

“Of course.” Seraphina nodded, now perched on the edge of Percival’s desk with her skirt gathered elegantly around her knees, “Now, I can’t say I know Theseus as well as you, but from what I’ve seen of him, it seems like it would take a lot to make him panic.”

“Theseus has made plenty of rash decisions before.” Percival replied evenly; he didn’t have to remind Seraphina he’d been party to more than a few of those decisions.

“Yes, but to decide to take his teenage brother in, likely violating your lease in the process, instead of letting him go home to their parents? That’s panic. Besides,” Seraphina tilted her head to one side, “Theseus has never asked anyone for help lightly- that much I’ve seen. But he asked you to help him yesterday. Something had him rattled.”

“You should’ve gone into psychology.”

“Politics is just as much about picking people apart as it is negotiating and arguing with them.”

“Well I don’t really appreciate you picking my friend apart.” Percival bit out.

“Well I can’t help you unless I know what’s going on.” Seraphina countered.

“I didn’t _ask_ for your help.” Percival snapped, “I appreciate you covering my shift yesterday, but…”

“Percival,” Seraphina cut in, “Unless I’ve missed my guess, you now have a teenager living with you—against your lease—who has been very recently expelled from school and, if Theseus’ actions are anything to go by, dangerously abused by one or both parents. Trust me when I tell you that you are _going_ _to_ need help. Just how many levels of illegal do you think we’re talking, here?”

Percival sighed. “I’ll let you know when we find the bottom.”

“You’re a criminal justice major, I’m sure you’ve taken some psychology courses by now. You must know the kind of affects abuse has on people, _particularly_ on children.” Seraphina insisted, “If nothing else, you’re going to need someone to cover your ass here a little more often.”

“ _Look_ ,” Percival clenched and unclenched his fists with pent-up irritation, “It’s not like I’m the kid’s legal guardian. I’m not even _related_ to him. He’s Theseus’ brother and Theseus’…” Percival stopped just short of uttering the word ‘problem’, Newt’s stricken expression from that morning flashing through his mind, “…I’ll help where I can, but I’m not the primary figure in all this.”

“But you are living with him.” Seraphina pointed out.

“ _Yes_ ,” Percival leaned forward, resting his forehead on his fists, “Yes, I am living with him, very astute observation.”

“Hm.” The click of heels against the bare floor let Percival know Seraphina had removed herself from his desk and was heading back towards her own, “Well I know you don’t _like_ people much younger than you. How are you getting along with your new roommate?”

Percival drew in a breath and sat back up straight, staring deliberately at the rows of files on his computer screen. “I spent half an hour this morning helping the kid figure out how to get a trash bag to stay on over his cast so he could take a shower.”

Seraphina was quiet for longer than Percival expected. When she finally did speak, her voice was surprisingly soft. “Does the kid have a name?”

“Newt.”

“Well,” Percival could hear Seraphina typing at her own computer now, even as she spoke, “Obviously you won’t accept any offers of help, but if you come to the conclusion that you need it on your own, you know where I’ll be.”

“As if I could forget.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percival pretends he doesn't panic, then panics. Newt also panics. Eventually an understanding is reached.

Newt was still on the couch when Percival returned home, though Theseus was nowhere to be seen, allowing Newt to take up space as he pleased. Percival glanced around as he hung his coat, looking into the kitchen and then down the hall, noting only the bathroom door was open before looking back to Newt. “Theseus still here?”

As though Newt hadn’t noticed his arrival, the teen jerked and sat up quickly, scooting to one side of the sofa with a wince.

“Careful.” Percival cautioned, watching Newt’s aborted move to grasp at his ribs.

“Didn’t hear you come in, sorry.” Newt shook his head, leaving Percival to wonder just how absorbed Newt was in his book, “Theseus is in his room.”

Percival nodded; he didn’t much care what Theseus did or where he went so long as he was around when he said he’d be and he didn’t leave long enough to be considered missing or dead, but he also didn’t much care to be left alone with Newt without warning. As he’d told Seraphina: he’d help where he could, but he wasn’t Newt’s guardian. Though from his roommate’s behavior over the past few days, Percival supposed he shouldn’t have assumed Theseus would have just left Newt alone.

“Good,” Percival nodded again, “Save me anything to eat?”

“Yes.”

Standing by the door for a moment longer, Percival realized Newt wasn’t going to say anything more and was, in fact, doing nothing to help his efforts to make things seem less awkward, and so headed for his room with a quick thanks.

In his room, Percival hadn’t managed much more than the removal of his shoes and belt before a decisive knock came at the door. “Come in.”

The double squeak of the door opening and shutting heralded Theseus’ entrance, who leaned against the closed door and grinned and Percival. “I think Newt likes you.”

“Really?” Percival raised an eyebrow at his friend, “Because he nearly gave himself whiplash just now trying to make room for me on the couch. Said he didn’t even hear me come in.”

“Hyperfocus.” Theseus shook his head, “And just because he’s not _used_ to you doesn’t mean he doesn’t _like_ you. He insisted we make a shopping list shortly after you left.”

“And how exactly does that mean he likes me?”

“He paid attention to what you said. He’s never trying to be rude, but he’s not always… aware. Of other people. Or what they’re saying. Particularly if he’s already got something in his hands. But he said we should make a list.”

Percival hadn’t thought of it that way. He wondered if he should be flattered. “Did you actually make a list?”

“For what it’s worth, yes.” Theseus nodded, “Though we both know I’m shit at writing up grocery lists, so there isn’t much on it. But it’s on the kitchen table.”

“Well I recognize and appreciate your effort.” Percival drawled, “Did you come in here just to tell me that?”

“Of course not. Why would I bother you with something as silly as a person actually taking a liking to you, despite the fact you generally act like a rather standoffish asshole?” Theseus teased.

“Right. Where you’re more of the charming asshole type.” Percival returned easily.

“A world of difference.” Theseus nodded, though his face became serious, “I actually came to talk to you because I have a problem.”

Percival snorted. “I’ve known you’ve had a problem for years. Several, actually. Which one are we talking about?”

“I was able to take a couple of nights off work, but I have to go in tomorrow. It’s Friday night, I can’t miss it.”

“Alright…”

“You also work tomorrow night.”

“And that means what, exactly?”

Theseus huffed. “I can’t just leave Newt by himself here.”

“Honestly, Theseus?” Percival scoffed, “He’s sixteen. He’ll be alone for- what, three hours? Maybe four? What do you think he’s going to do?”

“I think you’ve failed to grasp exactly the brand of menace my brother is.” Theseus insisted.

In Percival’s opinion, Newt looked rather like he might be scandalized by the very idea of menacing anyone. And on the off chance Theseus wasn’t completely overreacting, Newt was probably at least _less_ of a menace at the moment, with bruised ribs and a cast on his arm. Still, Theseus didn’t seem keen on letting the topic go. “So take him to work with you.” Percival suggested, “He can sit in one of the booths and… hyperfocus on his book.”

“I can’t take Newt to work with me, it’s like a riot on Friday nights.” Theseus shook his head, “It’s too loud.”

“Maybe you’re not giving him enough credit.”

“Trust me on this one, Percy. Newt would not do well sitting through a Friday night bar rush. Not right now.”

Percival sighed. “Well I already got Seraphina to cover one shift for me this week, I can’t take another day off.”

Theseus ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the strands in frustration. “Well I can’t just…”

“We don’t really have a choice.” Percival cut in decisively, “I don’t know what the hell you think Newt is going to do, but as long as he doesn’t cause mass property damage or further injure himself, I’m sure it’ll be fine. You can’t hover over him forever.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Theseus snapped, eyes flashing with anger, “Was I not particularly clear that he was in the hospital two days ago because he had the _shit_ beat out of him?”

“Theseus…”

“Or is that not reason enough for me to be at least a little _worried_ about my brother? Perhaps I’ll just leave him to the wolves to toughen him up. Better yet, I’ll just ship him back home, where…”

“ _Theseus!_ ” Percival snapped, “Will you _shut up_ for a goddamn minute? And stop being fucking dramatic! We live in the city, where the fuck do you think you’re going to find _wolves_?”

The anger held on Theseus’ face for a moment longer before he let out an unattractive snort of laughter. “Fucking Christ.” He exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked exceptionally tired.

“What are you going to do when he goes back to school? Helicopter parent? You have your own life, Theseus. And yeah, Newt looks like shit right now, but I’m pretty sure he’s not incompetent.” Percival insisted, “Go to work tomorrow. I’ll be home before nine, he won’t be alone for long. I doubt he’ll burn down the apartment while we’re gone.”

“I’m not worried about the apartment.” Theseus replied quietly.

“Well try not to worry so much in general. It’s irritating.”

“And you’re so sympathetic.”

Percival offered Theseus a small, unrepentant smile. “I never claimed to be sympathetic. I’ll knock some sense into you when you need it, though.”

“Well, if that’s the best I’m going to get out of you…” Theseus smirked over at Percival, “Thank you. For whatever the hell that was.”

“You’re welcome for whatever the hell that was. Now get out so I can get dressed.”

-/-/-

The grocery list was, as expected, abysmal. Part of it was written in Theseus’ familiar blocky hand— _eggs, milk, cereal_ (though the type of cereal was left unspecified)—while the rest was done by what Percival assumed was Newt’s thin, spiky writing— _bananas, honey, electrical tape?_ —with an actual question mark at the end. Percival shook his head and made his way around the tiny kitchen, checking cupboards and drawers for other items they might need.

“We did attempt to make the list more complete, but Theseus said you were usually in charge of making sure the two of you don’t die from malnutrition and that he’s rubbish at shopping lists,” Newt said apologetically as he watched Percival jot down a few more items, “Which he is. And I guess I’m not much better.”

“Well what do you like to eat?” Percival asked, poking his head into the fridge.

“Oh, I’m not that picky. Whatever you two usually eat is fine.”

Percival glanced over at Newt. “You don’t eat meat.”

“Ah. Right…” Newt glanced around the kitchen, chewing his lip for a moment before he ventured what sounded like a guess, “Broccoli?”

Suppressing a sigh, Percival added broccoli to the list. “What kind of cereal do you like?”

“I’m not…”

“ _Don’t_ say you’re not picky.” Percival cut in, “Make my job a little easier, give me something to work with here.”

Newt blinked at Percival and then looked back down at the table. “I’m not… overly fond of sweet things and I don’t like anything very crunchy.”

“Great. Nothing sugary, nothing with granola. That’s a start.” Percival nodded with approval, “More helpful than your brother already.”

“Did… Theseus never tell you what he likes to eat?”

“Theseus is a garbage disposal. Until he isn’t.” Percival glanced up to see that Newt was giving him an odd look and realized exactly how little sense his statement made out of context, “I mean- he insists he’ll eat anything, and he mostly does. And then I bring something home that he picks at like a five-year-old, but he never told me he didn’t like that thing. And then he still maintains that he’ll eat anything.”

Newt nodded, brows still furrowed. “At home, we’re mostly expected to just eat what’s on our plates. Theseus never complained.” Newt paused, “I keep getting in trouble because I have… trouble. With some foods and how they feel. But I’m not meant to leave anything on my plate. Or be picky.”

“Ah.” That actually explained a lot, now that Percival thought about it, both in regards to Newt and Theseus, “Well you’re not going to get in trouble here. Your brother and I ate cold pizza for breakfast yesterday, if you remember. I’d rather buy something you like in the first place than force you to eat something that makes you miserable.”

Newt nodded again, eyes trained to the counter just right of Percival. “I appreciate that, thank you.” The words came out in a tumbled rush, but they seemed almost sincere- almost like Newt believed him.

Percival awarded himself another tentative point and went to gather his things for class.

-/-/-

The rest of the day passed quickly, Percival moving from class to the grocery store and back to the apartment, where Newt attempted to help put away the groceries, and though he had no idea where anything was supposed to go, he at least had no problem taking direction. Theseus arrived home from class shortly thereafter and the three of them had a late sort of lunch before Percival had to get ready for work.

“Alright, I have to be at work by 5, but Percy will be home before 9, so it’ll be less than four hours that you’ll be here by yourself.” Theseus spoke around the ham sandwich he’d slapped together, “I’m sure you’ll find a way to amuse yourself in the meantime. _Without_ leaving the apartment.”

“I _understand_.” Newt insisted with the first sparks of irritation Percival had seen in him, “I’m not actually a child, you can leave me alone for a few hours.”

“I know you’re not a child,” Theseus replied, “I’d just rather you didn’t get caught leaving the apartment when neither Percy nor I are here and get us all caught out.”

Newt looked down at the peanut butter and jelly on his plate, his ire apparently somewhat lessened as he nodded. “Right.”

Theseus sighed and glanced over at Percival, who hastily shoved the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and stood from the table. “Gotta get ready for work.” He said once he’d managed to swallow the too-large bite.

“Of course you do.” Theseus muttered.

Percival firmly ignored him and went to get dressed. He was absolutely not getting involved with any sort of rule-making issues. Buying groceries, answering questions, attempting to make Newt realize Percival didn’t find him irritating, those were all one thing; being an authority figure to Newt was quite another. And besides that, he really did have to get ready for work.

By the time Percival had emerged from the bathroom, vest straight and hair styled, the remains of lunch had been cleared up and Newt was once again seated on the couch with his book. Percival wondered vaguely if he planned on reading the entire textbook front to back- or if he’d done so before. Theseus was nowhere to be seen, likely getting ready in his own room, so Percival gave Newt a decidedly not awkward wave after putting on his coat. “I’ll… see you later tonight.” He said after a moment, “Back before nine.”

Newt looked in Percival’s direction and nodded. “Have a good day. Evening.”

A small grin ticked at the corners of Percival’s mouth as he headed out.

There. He could get along with people. Theseus and Seraphina had absolutely no faith in him.

-/-/-

The apartment was quiet when Percival returned home. The lights in the kitchen and living area had been left off and it didn’t seem like anyone had been in the room for a bit. Percival knew Theseus had told Newt he was welcome to sit in his room if he wanted a little more privacy—though what Newt could need privacy from in an empty apartment, Percival wasn’t sure; teenagers were an enigma—and quiet as the place was, Percival assumed Newt had holed up Theseus’ room for the evening.

In fact, if the living area hadn’t been so cold, Percival might not have noticed anything was off at all.

He checked the thermostat first before realizing that the window leading to the fire escape had been left open, just a few inches, allowing in the early November chill into the room. Percival stiffened, mind coming quickly around to alertness. Nothing in the main area was amiss, not that he could tell, but Newt- Newt was nowhere to be seen.

Percival was at the door to Theseus’ room quickly, pausing just a moment to listen for signs of life through the barrier before he opened the door. The room was… dark. And empty. It looked almost exactly as it had when Percival had been in there two days ago: the bed a mess, books and papers stacked on various surfaces, but the floor mostly clear of debris. Percival checked his room just to be certain and found it the same as it had been when he’d left for work. A quick look in the bathroom—leave no stone unturned—proved the apartment truly was empty.

Which meant one of two things; either someone had managed to unlock and open the window to the fire escape from the outside (no mean feat; it honestly would have been easier to break it), came into the apartment, and stole away with Newt without any sign of a struggle, or- or Newt had gone out through the window onto the fire escape of his own volition and hadn’t noticed the window wasn’t closed all the way because the damn thing stuck.

The second option, unfortunately, seemed infinitely more likely.

Well- no, Percival didn’t wish Newt had been kidnapped, but he had honestly started to think Theseus had been kidding about Newt sneaking out. However, dramatic as he could be, it seemed Theseus knew his little brother very well.

Newt’s book was still sitting on the coffee table and his clothes were still hanging in Theseus’ closet and Percival had to conclude that Newt meant to come back.

Yet now, well after dark, he was still gone.

Percival shoved his arms back into the sleeves of his coat and headed quickly back out of the apartment, a mixture of irritation and concern churning in his gut that Percival had learned to associate mostly with Theseus. Apparently it was a familial evocation.

Out in front of the apartment building, Percival wondered just where the hell he was supposed to go now. It was too early in November for snow and almost everything around them was paved; it wasn’t as though Newt would have left tracks. The nearest place with anything even resembling grass was the park over a block away and- the park.

Percival remembered suddenly, Newt’s seemingly innocent question the first day he’d come to stay— _“Is there a park around here?”_ —and took off walking without preamble. He couldn’t be sure Newt would be there, but it was a start. Where the hell else would the kid have gone?

The park was as unremarkable as Percival remembered, with the same configuration of benches and decorative streetlamps as pretty much every other small park in the city. There was a small, open field of grass flanked by a few rows of trees and a path running around the perimeter; nothing special but, fortunately, something easy to search over quickly.

Percival walked the path slowly, noting every empty bench and searching the light pooling beneath every lamp with increasing unease. If Newt wasn’t here… Percival supposed he’d have to call Theseus, ask him if he had any idea where Newt might have gone, then consider calling the police because it wasn’t as though Newt _knew_ the city, he could be lost or, even worse, someone could have snatched him up while he was on his way to god knows where and- there was a sneaker sticking out from behind the bush Percival had just passed.

Backtracking a bit, Percival looked again; there was indeed a shoe, just visible outside the low light of the streetlamp, and it appeared to be attached to a person. Percival stepped off the path, tensed and ready to move in case the person he had just found was not, in fact, Newt, and followed the shoe up to its owner. To Percival’s immense relief, it was Newt, sitting on the ground with his back propped against a tree trunk, devoid of any injury beyond what had already been present.

The relief immediately gave way to irritation, even as Newt jumped to see someone standing before him unexpectedly. “Percival!”

“What. In the _hell_. Are you _doing_?” Percival demanded, gesturing to the area around them.

“Uh.”

“Are you just sitting around waiting for someone to come _kidnap_ you?”

Newt’s brows drew together, a look of confusion stealing over his face in the dark that suggested he hadn’t even considered the threat of kidnapping. “No, I…” Newt trailed off, pulling his jacket more tightly to his body, “I just… needed to, um. Get out.”

“Out. Into a city you don’t know at all, without telling anyone where you were, in the _dark_.” Percival snapped.

Newt flinched, visible even in the low light. “I thought I’d be back before you. It’s not even eight yet.”

“I finished early.”

“Oh.” Newt stood quickly, wrapping his arms around himself as much as his cast would allow, “I- I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean- Didn’t want to upset anyone, I just couldn’t- I couldn’t- Please don’t… I mean, you- you’d be well within your rights to- to be very angry, you had to come all the way out here to get me, and you’ll- you’ll have to tell Theseus, but please, I didn’t mean to cause trouble, I just…”

“Newt, stop.”

Newt shut up almost immediately, his shoulders hunched almost up to his ears. Most of Percival’s anger died out then and there. “Newt, I’m not going to yell at you.”

“You…” Newt’s voice was low again, so quiet Percival had to strain to hear it over the background noise of the city, “You’re within your rights to…”

“No one ever has the right to just scream at you, alright?” Percival cut in, “I’m not going to do that.”

Newt nodded, a jerky motion that didn’t particularly give Percival faith that Newt believed him. “Look, Theseus asked you to let someone know before you went anywhere…”

“And then Theseus told me not to go anywhere at all.” Newt mumbled, “I’ve been inside that tiny flat for almost three days straight. I don’t remember the last time I was trapped somewhere that long.”

Percival hadn’t quite thought of it that way; he couldn’t remember if Theseus had ever said anything about where they’d lived in England, but Percival did know that Newt had spent most of his childhood at a house with extensive grounds or at boarding schools with possibly equally extensive grounds, which he had apparently frequently snuck out onto. Being told to stay put in a small space like a city apartment when you were used to having room to run – well, Percival couldn’t say he’d have enjoyed the experience, either. With a sigh, Percival stepped forward slowly and deliberately ignored the flinch his movement evoked in Newt, instead sitting down in the grass beside the tree. He tried not to grimace as he felt the damp earth begin to soak into his slacks, hoping the mess would wash out.

Newt turned and eyed him with open confusion, and Percival gestured to the spot next to him. “Go on, sit down.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Newt did so, sitting stiffly beside Percival.

Neither said anything for a few moments, the sounds of passing cars just beyond the perimeter of the park the only thing to break the silence. “So you went out the window.” Percival said at last.

“I… don’t have a key.” Newt replied carefully.

“How the hell did you get down the fire escape, though? The ladder isn’t extended at the bottom.”

“I climbed.”

Percival cut a look at Newt, who was staring at his knees. “You _climbed_. With a broken arm.”

Newt shrugged slightly. “Well, I climbed part of the way, and sort of… jumped down after that. It wasn’t far.”

“Newt.” Percival reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, “You’re supposed to be letting your ribs heal. Jumping off a fire escape is _bad_ for things like bruised ribs and broken bones, I am 100% sure.”

“I’m fine.” Newt insisted, “It was a short drop, really. I’m very used to climbing trees, the fire escape wasn’t a challenge.”

“Will I come out here and find you actually sitting _in_ a tree once your cast is off?” Percival glanced up at the branches of the tree they were sitting beneath, attempting to judge in the dark how well they would hold almost six feet of gangly teenager.

“If Theseus doesn’t behead me for sneaking out.” Newt muttered.

“Theseus isn’t going to…”

“He is _definitely_ going to.”

Percival paused for a moment. “Maybe… we don’t need to tell Theseus. _Yet_.”

Newt’s head snapped towards Percival, confused disbelief on his shadowed face.

“He won’t be home until well after midnight, so he won’t know you were gone. We can keep it a secret for the weekend,” Percival offered, “We’ll have to tell him eventually, though.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Newt shook his head.

“The worst he can do is yell about it. But if we tell him exactly how trapped you’re feeling, he might ease up.”

“You really don’t have to…”

“I know I don’t have to.” Percival cut in, “But I would much rather _not_ come home to an empty apartment and wonder where the hell you are and if I’m going to have to call Theseus at work and give him a heart attack because you felt like you had to sneak out.”

“I… Sorry.” Newt looked down again, “I really couldn’t stay _in_ any longer.”

“We’ll let it slide this time. I know you can’t possibly be enjoying yourself, but try to be patient a little longer. Theseus will calm down.”

Newt snorted in amusement and Percival amended his statement. “Eventually. He’ll calm down eventually.”

They sat for a few minutes longer, until Percival noticed Newt pulling his jacket closer again, shifting to cover a shiver that went running through him.

“You’ve been sitting out here for hours, haven’t you?” Percival asked.

“I… came out here a little after Theseus left for work.”

Percival sighed, slow and resigned. “Well he’s definitely going to know you went out if you catch hypothermia.” He stood from the grass, straightening his slacks as best he could, “Let’s head back.”

Newt nodded, following Percival back onto the path and out of the park. They had almost made it back to the apartment building before either of them spoke.

“I am, actually.” Newt said thoughtfully.

“What?” Percival glanced over at Newt, who shook his head.

“Sorry. Earlier. You said I couldn’t possibly be enjoying myself, but I… am. At least a bit.” Newt tilted his head to the side, “Staying with you and Theseus is very different from… actually, anywhere else I’ve ever stayed and it’s weird, but it’s nice.”

“You never, what, stayed over at a friend’s house for the night? Hung out with some of the guys from your school?” Percival asked, casting around for anything that might bear a similarity to rooming with two college students.

“No.” Newt’s voice was hard in a way Percival hadn’t heard it before. Definitive.

“Well.” Percival paused for a moment, fishing for his keys to unlock the outer door leading into the apartment complex, “I’m glad you’re not completely miserable here.”

In the low light of the hallway, Percival could see that small, crooked smile ghosting over Newt’s face again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weekend happens, the Scamanders (minus one) meet Newt's new principal, and today is not the day Theseus calms down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm sorry this one is actually really long. I originally wrote this story all in one document, so breaking it into chapters was difficult

Newt, unsurprisingly, did not succumb to hypothermia, and the rest of the weekend passed without incident. The offices, though open late into the evening, were closed on weekends and Percival took the time to catch up on homework, laundry, and other responsible-type things before taking time to read a book he’d been putting off or immersing himself in the few programs saved up on the DVR.

Theseus bartended every night of the weekend, coming home well after midnight on Friday and Saturday and sleeping much later into the mornings than he usually would (sometimes as late as 8:30, Percival would tease him), and usually gave Percival twenty dollars out of his tip money to do Theseus’ laundry alongside his own, at which Percival would roll his eyes but take anyway. Theseus would catch up on any of his own homework and commandeer the remote from Percival despite the fact he never actually changed the channel.

Newt fit himself in around the usual weekend routine with surprising ease. He followed Percival to the basement to do his own laundry, but there was so little of it that Percival ended up throwing it in with the rest—“I’ve already got your brother’s in here, might as well save space.”—and read quietly while Percival and Theseus did their assignments. When the TV came on, Newt unearthed a sketchbook Percival hadn’t seen yet and didn’t really get the chance to see then, either, considering Newt angled it away from the rest of the room while he drew.

Sunday afternoon came and things around the apartment seemed to have settled, which was the moment Theseus chose to break the easy atmosphere. “We’re meeting Mum at the school tomorrow to get you enrolled. Make sure you’re ready by ten.” He told Newt over lunch.

Much of the tension that had leeched from Newt’s posture over the past two days drew back over him, though he didn’t look up at Theseus. “Okay.”

“No need to be nervous. I’ve heard it’s a good school.” Theseus assured him.

“I’m sure it is.” Newt nodded, staring at the space left of Theseus’ ear.

The three of them were quiet for a little while longer, their plates nearly clear before Newt spoke again. “Will Dad be there?”

“No.” Theseus answered with immediate vehemence that he quickly attempted to cover up, “Ah, no, he’ll be working. Just you and me and Mum.”

“Okay.” Newt said again, his shoulders relaxing just a fraction.

Once Theseus had headed off to work, Percival grabbed his laptop and settled onto the couch, ready to either do some very light research for a far-off end of term paper or surf the internet at random before the week began anew. Maybe a little of both. Newt perched on the other end of the sofa, sketchbook propped up in his lap, and they sat in relative silence for a while, accompanied the scratch of Newt’s pencil, the tap of Percival’s fingers on his keyboard, and the faint sounds of traffic in the distance. It wasn’t terrible, but the silence was starting to itch at Percival.

“Do you listen to music?”

“When?” Newt asked, eyes never breaking from his paper.

“Uh.” Percival was momentarily thrown by the question, “Whenever. When you’re drawing or reading? Doing homework? I don’t know, just in general.”

Newt nodded. “Not often when I’m reading. But I do tend to listen to a lot of music, actually. Blocks things out.”

Percival wondered briefly why he hadn’t seen the appearance of any sort of music player since Newt had come to stay, but shrugged the thought away. “What do you listen to?”

Newt actually glanced up from his sketchbook for a moment before looking back down with what almost looked like a smile. “You won’t like the answer.”

“You don’t have a preference.” Percival deadpanned, and Newt’s almost-smile grew.

“I do tend towards instrumentals, but I really don’t mind listening to most kinds of music.” Newt tilted his head to the side, considering, “I may have been a bit influenced by Theseus’ tastes in music, actually. I have a sort of… soft spot for anything with a heavy beat.”

“Wouldn’t have taken you for a rock fan.”

“Theseus would blast it any time Dad wasn’t…” Newt paused, changed tracks, “Whenever the house was empty. I grew up listening to it. And… it blocks things out.”

Percival nodded, though Newt was still looking down at whatever he was drawing. “Mind if I play something now?”

“It’s your house. Flat.”

Percival let his head fall back for a moment, sighing. “I’m trying to be considerate.”

“Oh.” Newt blinked over at him, “Sorry. No, music would be… fine.”

With an amused huff, Percival pulled up a music player and chose a playlist made up mostly of classic rock. He knew Theseus’ tastes tended towards modern, and thus Newt’s probably did as well, but Percival had grown up listening to his mother’s cassette tapes filled with the 80’s classics and had never been able to shake the fondness. Newt didn’t seem to mind, not even in the small, telling expressions Percival noticed now and then when the teenager was uncomfortable but refused to say, and Percival returned to surfing the internet.

Perhaps it was only that Newt had so far managed to be rather quiet and unobtrusive, never demanding conversation and all but wilting under too much attention, but Percival didn’t mind that he was spending most evenings in the living area, rather than in his room as he would for some privacy after spending the day interacting with his boisterous roommate. It was a change of pace he hadn’t quite anticipated, but not an unpleasant one.

-/-/-

In the morning, Percival woke around nine to find Newt still listing around the kitchen table in his pajamas, nursing a cup of tea that had to be well past cold and scribbling in a notebook. Theseus had gone to one of his godawful morning classes and wouldn’t be back for another hour or so, but Percival’s classes didn’t start until noon, and he took his time in starting up the coffee pot and assembling breakfast. He noted the dregs of cereal congealing in the bottom of Newt’s cereal bowl and the ink smudge on the unbruised side of his face and wondered just how long Newt had been sitting there, avoiding the idea of his inevitable school enrollment.

Percival sat heavily in his chair and clunked his coffee mug down on the table to announce his presence, but Newt didn’t even flinch. Either he’d already noticed Percival or he wasn’t going to any time soon. Percival ate through his breakfast with a shrug, and only when he’d finished off his coffee and it was nearing half past the hour did he break the silence. “Didn’t Theseus tell you to be ready by ten?”

“Mm.” Newt hummed quietly, still scribbling away in his notebook.

Percival waited a moment. “You do know it’s 9:30?”

Newt’s hand finally stilled, eyes snapping up to find the timepiece on the microwave. “ _Bugger_.”

It was with only a little amusement (that he would admit to) that Percival watched Newt stumble around the kitchen, dropping his breakfast dishes in the sink to rinse them before heading for the bathroom, only to backtrack and grab his notebook and run back to Theseus’ room, emerging with an armful of clothes and disappearing into the bathroom. Percival reckoned he might have made it out on time had he not been hampered by the cast on his arm. As it was, Newt made it back to the living area clean and fully dressed by ten after the hour.

The outfit he had chosen for the meeting was something of a turnaround from the t-shirts Percival had gotten used to seeing Newt in over the past several days. “Planning on heading out into the Yukon?” Percival cocked an eyebrow.

Newt adjusted the sleeves of the over-large blue cardigan he’d put on over a sweater vest, both topping a button down shirt. His sneakers had been swapped out for what appeared to be hiking boots, though the jeans remained the same. “No.” Newt tugged at his rolled up left sleeves, attempting to settle them comfortably at the edge of his cast, “I like the layers. And I don’t think this school has a uniform.”

“Most public schools around here don’t.” Percival agreed, getting up to rinse his mug in the sink.

“But Theseus said to be ready by ten. It’s nearly 10:15.” Newt eyed the microwave clock with some distrust.

“Theseus has class ‘til ten on Mondays, I think. He should be home soon.”

Newt frowned and Percival tried not to crack an amused smile. He was saved the trouble by Theseus’ return. “Oh good, you’re ready.” Theseus noted as he came through the door.

“You lied to me.” Newt accused.

“I did no such thing. I never said we were _leaving_ at ten, just that you should be ready.” Theseus grinned sharply, “I adjusted the time a bit to account for the fact you’re never on time to anything. I was expecting you to still be stumbling around getting ready.”

Newt’s frown deepened. “Percival reminded me.” He muttered.

Theseus snorted. “That is fantastic. Honestly. But we actually do have to go now, Mum’ll be waiting.” He ushered Newt out the door, waving to Percival as he went, “Thanks, mate!”

And with that, Percival had the apartment to himself for the first time in days.

-/-/-

Rhiannon Scamander was already waiting outside the school when Theseus pulled up, tall and imposing in tasteful skirt and blouse ensemble Theseus was certain she must have bought whole; his mother had never been terribly interested in fashion beyond the practicality of an item of clothing when working. Her face, fixed on the impassive look she wore to deal with people at social functions, softened when she spotted her sons. “Newt.” She reached out when he was close enough, and Newt held still for inspection.

There was at least sadness on her face when she cupped Newt’s face and ran her thumb gently over the still-healing cut and coloring bruises, Theseus noted. He knew his mother had never really wished Newt ill, but it sometimes seemed like she hadn’t cared one way or the other, wrapped up in the horses as she was. “Well,” Rhiannon said at last, “Maybe we won’t make the best first impression, but at least you’re healing.”

Newt nodded once his mother had withdrawn her hands and stared determinedly at her shoulder.

“We’re supposed to meet the principal at 10:30. We ought to go in.” Theseus prodded, attempting to herd his family toward the front entrance.

“Right. What are we saying again?” Rhiannon swept towards the doors, allowing Theseus to hold it for her as he repeated what he had told Newt in the car.

“Newt still lives with you. He spends weekdays at my flat because it’s closer and he can walk from it. Bit thin, but Percy said they probably won’t poke at it too much.” Theseus shrugged, trusting his friend to have a better handle on the American public schooling system than he did, “As for Newt’s injuries, if anyone asks, we’re just going with the story you tried to feed me at the hospital.”

Rhiannon bristled, turning a sharp look on Theseus. “I _didn’t_ …”

“It doesn’t really matter.” Newt mumbled, tugging his sweater closer to himself, “Doesn’t matter who came up with what, it’s what we’re saying.”

“Right.” Theseus sighed, “Anyway, all of Newt’s paperwork will have the house listed as his home address and any mail from the school will go there. Try to have someone message me if any comes through and I can pick it up when I have the time.”

“Hm.” Rhiannon looked from Theseus to Newt, “And just how long are you planning on _staying_ at your brother’s flat?”

“I…”

“As long as he needs to.” Theseus cut in sharply, “He can stay there and be safe.”

Though Rhiannon looked ready to argue the point with Theseus, a voice broke into the tension surrounding their small group. They hadn’t quite realized they’d all stopped in the middle of the atrium to argue out their story, and as such they’d failed to notice the receptionist sitting at the desk on the other end of the room.

“Excuse me,” The woman said again, a bit louder, “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” Rhiannon’s expression smoothed and she approached with the familiar grace of a socialite, “I am Rhiannon Scamander, I have an appointment with Mr. John Cox to enroll my son, Newton, at this school.”

The nameplate in front of the woman read “Peggy,” and she seemed rather surprised to find herself suddenly on the receiving end of a frosty British accent. “Ah,” Peggy nodded slowly, “Well I’ll need you… all to sign in, and then you can come back into the office and have a seat.”

Rhiannon nodded, scribbling her name across the sign-in sheet Peggy directed her to, then stood to the side while she waited for Theseus and Newt to do the same. They were lead back through a door to the side of the long desk and into a bright office space, cluttered with desks and papers, and invited to sit and wait for Mr. Cox. “I’ll just let him know you’re here.” Peggy told the three of them, disappearing down a hallway.

“You don’t have to terrify the poor woman.” Theseus said after a moment.

“I’m not terrifying anybody. I am being firm. After the mess at Newt’s previous school, I would like them to take us seriously.” Rhiannon replied, her voice still a bit chilly.

Theseus glanced over at his mother. She had gone back to looking impassive, but he could see just a hint of apprehension in her eyes. She put on a good show, but Rhiannon _was_ worried for her youngest son. Leaning back, Theseus attempted to ease his own tension. “Well you can be firm with a smile. I’m sure the principal will be receptive, you don’t need to socialize him into submission.”

There was a sudden exhale from Newt that sounded like a badly-stopped laugh and Theseus grinned a bit to himself. Whatever argument he had with his mother, as long as they could pull Newt through the meeting without the kid passing out, Theseus would call the day a success. As it was, Newt had his shoulders thrown back and was attempting to show no expression in the same way Rhiannon did – exactly as he’d been taught to act at social functions by their father. Theseus allowed himself to slouch just for the contradiction. No need for all three of them to be stiff and formal.

The principal came from his office to meet them, a man of average height with a round face and glasses to match, topped with a friendly smile. “Hello, good morning. I’m John Cox, principal here.” He introduced himself, shaking Rhiannon’s hand when she offered it, “Very nice to meet you Mrs. Scamander.”

“And you, Mr. Cox.” Rhiannon nodded, this time pulling up a small but personable smile.

“And you,” Cox turned on Newt, “Must be Newton.”

“Yes.” Newt nodded once, staring somewhere in the vicinity of the man’s face to approximate eye contact.

Cox was quiet for a moment, as if expecting Newt to say more, but when nothing else was forthcoming he simply gave Newt a nod in return. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Newton.” Finally, Cox turned to Theseus, “I’m sorry, and you are…?”

“Theseus Scamander,” Theseus reached out to shake Cox’s hand firmly, “Newt’s brother. I’ve just come to help the process along.”

“Ah. Well,” Cox nodded, “I’ll just ask the three of you to follow me to my office, then.”

Once settled behind his desk, Cox pulled over one of the many manila folders stacked along the edge of his desk and flipped it open. “I had the time to go over Newton’s record – all his academic information, any disciplinary issues, and the case surrounding his expulsion, of course.”

“Yes, that was very… unfortunate.” Rhiannon nodded, “Not something I’d ever expect from my son, and certainly not something I expect a repeat of.”

“Of course, of course,” Cox nodded, “I did notice more than a few other infractions, however. Just a few less than positive notes from teachers. Seems a lot of them involved _animals_.”

Newt nearly jumped in his seat when he found the principal’s focus on him, but managed to straighten up and speak. “Yes, it…” Newt cleared his throat, “I never set out to cause any trouble with them.”

“I see.” Cox regarded Newt for a moment, “You like animals, Newton?”

“Yes, I’m… very interested.” Newt nodded, “I would never have brought any of those animals in from the outside if I thought they’d have been fine on their own. There wasn’t a vet for miles, though, and I really only wanted to help them.”

Theseus cringed internally, looking from Newt to Cox, who was blinking back at Newt. “Well I think that’s very kind of you.” Cox said after a beat, turning back to Rhiannon, “Sounds like something of a budding veterinarian.”

“Perhaps. I’ve always thought Newt may have inherited his love of animals from me,” Rhiannon gave Newt a small smile, “I breed horses, you see.”

“Oh, do you?” Cox replied politely.

Sitting up abruptly in his seat, Theseus moved to head his mother off before she could begin talking about horses- she had never cared to learn the difference between polite and genuine interest, and if she got going they would be there all day. “She does. Has for years, I’m sure she’ll have the opportunity to tell you all about it another time.” Theseus cut in as politely as he could, “But I don’t think we’ll ever get Newt to be a veterinarian if he hasn’t finished school.”

“Of course,” Cox nodded again, eyeing Theseus, “And, I’m sorry, Mr. Scamander, but what exactly is your tie in all of this?”

“Newt is my brother.” Theseus stated, elaborating when Cox didn’t seem moved by the assertion, “And I have a flat just a few blocks from here. Newt will be staying there weekdays so he can walk to the school. Much more convenient than driving all the way up from the house.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yes, and I thought it would be best if I knew when to send him off for school and when he should be back and just… all those general sorts of things. Never attended public school here, you see,” Theseus put on his best unassuming grin, “So I just invited myself along to the meeting.”

“Ah,” Cox blinked, “Well it’s nice to see you have an interest in your brother’s education. So shall we get things rolling?”

From there, there was a lot of talk of expectations and disciplinary measures and agreements that had to be made before the forms could be brought out. When they reached the paperwork stage, Cox offered them all a seat at one of the general-use tables back out in the office area, where Rhiannon filled out each paper as Theseus watched with barely concealed boredom. Newt still appeared attentive, but Theseus suspected that was more a combination of nerves and straight posture to keep pressure off his ribs. Finally, after watching their mother fill out more forms than either Theseus or Newt had realized existed, Cox came to find the three of them again. Back in the principal’s office, they took the same seats they had before while Cox checked over the papers.

“Well, these look to be in order. Should have everything sorted out soon. I look forward to having you as a student, Newton.” Cox said, catching Newt by surprise once more, “I understand that what happened at your previous school wasn’t ideal, but I believe everyone deserves a second chance, particularly when it comes to learning. You seem like a nice young man, and I’m sure we won’t have any repeats of the… previous incident.”

It took Newt a moment to realize he was expected to respond, but he shook his head quickly, sitting up straighter in his seat. “Absolutely not.” He agreed quietly.

“Fantastic.” Cox smiled, “Well, I think that’s about everything for now. You’ll receive notification when Newton’s paperwork has gone through, should be by the end of the week. Wouldn’t want him to miss too much class.”

“Of course.” Rhiannon smiled, standing from her seat, “Thank you for your time, Mr. Cox.”

“Yes, absolutely.” Cox nodded, “Any time.”

The man came around his desk to see the family out, catching Rhiannon as she meant to file out after her sons. “Ah, Mrs. Scamander, just one more thing…” Theseus paused a short ways down the hall, listening intently, “Now, if it isn’t pertinent, you don’t need to share, but the file was very _vague_ about the circumstances surrounding Newton’s… injuries. Is there anything the school should know about that?”

Rhiannon paused only a moment before smoothly giving Cox the same story she’d told Theseus when he had first burst into the hospital. “When Newt’s expulsion was made final, he went back to his dormitory to collect the last of his belongings. It seems some of the other boys ganged up on him there, taking… revenge, I suppose, for Newt’s involvement. He did attempt to keep his injuries a secret for a short time, and he refuses to say anything against any of his attackers. We can’t press charges, but I assure you, he’s healing up very well.”

“I see.” Cox sounded disconcerted, “That is terrible. But it’s good to know he’s on the mend. I can assure you that nothing like that will be tolerated here.”

“It is something I would like to avoid repeating.” Rhiannon agreed.

“Yes, of course. You have a nice day, Mrs. Scamander.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cox.”

Rhiannon caught up to Theseus, who did little to hide his ambling, and shot him a quick look. Theseus only shrugged – couldn’t be helped. They both caught up to Newt, and Theseus was fairly certain that, despite waiting at the end of the hall, his younger brother had heard the conversation as well.

The breath of fresh air that came from exiting the school was a great relief for all three of them.

“Well,” Rhiannon announced, “That was exhausting.”

Theseus grunted in agreement as Newt suppressed a yawn.

“Now, I don’t know how long you plan on hiding away with Theseus,” Rhiannon continued, glancing over at Newt, “But it would be nice to see you both for Christmas.”

“Mum…” Theseus sighed, only to be cut off by Newt.

“That’s fine.”

“ _Newt_.” Theseus hissed, giving Newt’s cast a pointed look that even his younger brother couldn’t quite miss.

“I’m sure Dad will have calmed down by then. He can’t stay angry for two months.” Newt reasoned quietly, “Christmas will be… nice.”

Theseus couldn’t imagine why Newt was agreeing to come home for the holidays when he had dragged his feet every other year returning from a school he hadn’t even liked, but if he was so intent on making an appearance, Theseus wasn’t about to let him go alone. “Yes, alright.” Theseus huffed, “We’ll come for Christmas dinner.”

“You should stay.” Rhiannon insisted, “Open presents in the morning, have lunch…”

The rejection had barely formed on Theseus’ tongue before Newt was nodding and answering for them both. “Yes, that sounds. Great.”

Rhiannon smiled fondly at Newt before looking to her older son. “Theseus?”

Theseus ran his fingers through his hair, hissing out a frustrated sigh. “Yes, _alright._ It’ll be _brilliant_ to be home for Christmas.” He snapped.

Shaking her head, Rhiannon’s smile moved into something tight and forced. “Everything will be fine.”

Theseus very much doubted it.

“I’ll let you know when we get word on Newt’s paperwork.” Rhiannon waved them off.

As Theseus and Newt trooped back to the car, both dropping into their seats with an air of disproportionate exhaustion, Theseus shot Newt a sour look. “You can’t just keep pretending nothing is wrong.”

“Well you can’t avoid them forever.” Newt murmured.

“Not if you keep accepting invitations for me, no.” Theseus groused, “I expect it’ll be very difficult to avoid them that way.”

-/-/-

“You must’ve had a good day,” Percival commented as he hung his coat, watching from the corner of his eye as Theseus took another pull from the bottle of beer in his hand.

“Mm,” Theseus hummed around the bottle, “Spectacular.”

Percival forwent the usual change of his work clothes to loungewear and headed straight for the fridge, pulling out a beer and noting the appearance of a new box of pizza. “Any problems with the school?” He asked as he peeked into the box, finding the leftovers of what appeared to be half sausage and half mushroom pizza.

“Except for the monumental amount of lying we’ve had to do, no, not really.” Theseus shook his head, “That’s my half of the pizza you’re eating.”

The comment did nothing to stop Percival from biting into a cold slice of sausage pizza. “You wouldn’t tell me to take your little brother’s half of the pizza, would you?”

“I hate mushrooms.” Theseus muttered, taking another sip of beer.

“Really?” Percival sat down at the kitchen table alongside his roommate, “My mother puts them in the stuffing every year at Thanksgiving. You always eat it.”

“Oh, I’ll _eat_ them. I just hate them.”

For a moment, Percival was thrown back to what Newt had told him the previous week when Percival had been trying to beef up the shopping list; Theseus ate what he was given, no complaints. Percival appeared to be an exception to that rule, but his family was not. Percival made a note. “Any lies I should know about?” He asked after another moment, “In case I’m questioned.”

Theseus snorted. “I doubt you’ll be questioned. But even if someone does happen to ask, it’s about the same,” He shrugged, “Newt doesn’t live here. Still lives at home, only stays here weekdays so he can walk to school.”

Percival nodded and twisted the cap off his own beer. “Why’re you in such a shitty mood, then?”

Theseus glared over at Percival and Percival paid him no mind, taking a swig of beer instead. They hadn’t managed to be friends as long as they had without calling each other’s bullshit. Finally, Theseus shifted in his chair and huffed. “Mum invited us home for Christmas.” He said dourly, “Like nothing at all is wrong. Like none of this happened.”

“Are you going?”

“Unfortunately,” Theseus let his head fall back over the top of his rickety kitchen chair, “Newt took it upon himself to accept. _Like nothing ever happened_. I tried telling him he can’t just pretend nothing is wrong…”

Percival was generally inclined to agree; he’d seen and heard enough over the past few days that if could help Theseus keep Newt away from their parents, he would. But his role right now wasn’t to feed his friend’s temper. His role was to be reasonable and talk Theseus out of doing anything exceptionally irrational – particularly as they were already walking a very fine line in regards to the law. “But you can’t avoid your parents forever.” Percival pointed out, “Especially not when they’re integral to Newt staying in school.”

“And that’s what Newt said.” Theseus informed him dully, “I may have mentioned before, but I very much dislike it when people who have differing opinions from mine make good arguments.”

Percival took the statement for what it was— _I hate it when you’re right_ —and took a victorious sip of beer.

“Well. Enough about my day,” Theseus thunked his near-empty beer down on the table, “What about you? What’s new in the world of filing and data entry?”

‘Not much’ was usually the answer, but Percival recognized a subject change when Theseus slapped him with one and managed to scrounge up a suitably consuming story about something irritating Abernathy, another part-timer at the office, had done that afternoon.

-/-/-

By midweek there was still no word on Newt’s enrollment and both Scamander brothers were beginning to get twitchy. Theseus, though he did his best to hide it, was anxious about his parents’ continued cooperation and remained glued to his phone lest he miss a call from his mother. Newt, on the other hand, appeared to once again be feeling cramped. He’d only been out of the apartment once since his trip to the park on Friday night, and Percival doubted a meeting at the high school had gone very far in making Newt feel as though he had some measure of freedom.

Newt withdrew further, pressing himself into a corner of the couch and cutting himself off from communication by jamming a pair of earbuds into his ears and playing music from his phone, keeping his eyes trained on whatever he was working on. Theseus was just the opposite, letting his bad mood spread around him like a murky shadow and coloring all his actions with irritation. Between the two of them, Percival was fairly certain he was going to lose it if someone didn’t break the tension.

“I think Newt should come shopping with me.” Percival suggested over his coffee on Thursday morning.

Theseus glanced up from the notebook he’d been highlighting notes in with great prejudice. “Sorry?”

“I was planning on getting some groceries today. I think Newt should come with me.” Percival repeated.

“You want to take Newt grocery shopping.” Theseus raised a dubious eyebrow at his friend, “Why?”

“Because you’re driving me insane.” Percival huffed, “The both of you. I’m used to you being in a pissy mood but you being in a pissy mood while pretending you’re _not_ is unnatural and even worse than usual. And I’m pretty sure Newt is trying to become one with the couch so he doesn’t have to deal with anything. I don’t think he’s actually said anything since before I left for class yesterday.”

“He answered when I asked if he wanted lunch.” Theseus muttered, “What does this have to do with your relentless desire to replace the expired milk?”

“One of you is going to snap. And if you don’t, _I’m_ going to.” Percival drained the last of his coffee, “Besides, it’d probably be good for Newt to get out of the apartment.”

“He was out of the flat on Monday.” Theseus ripped the top off an orange highlighter and went back to attacking his notes, “And he’ll be going back to school soon. He’ll be fine.”

Percival sighed, glancing over Theseus’ shoulder to see that Newt likely hadn’t heard a word of their conversation, earbuds still firmly in place and his eyes glued to his notebook. Well, he hadn’t said he’d keep Friday night’s excursion a secret forever. He weighed his words carefully; there was no way he wouldn’t get a volatile reaction, but careful phrasing could go a long way in preemptive damage control.

“You said yourself that Newt is used to having the freedom to go places, and you’ve let him leave the apartment once after being here over a week. That doesn’t sound easy to adjust to.” Percival pointed out, watching as Theseus slowed slightly in marking up his notes, “And since he’s already snuck out once and I really don’t want to repeat the experience, I thought taking him out somewhere might be good for everyone’s continued sanity.”

It took about two seconds for Theseus to turn Percival’s words over in his head. Percival could see the moment they clicked into place. “He did _what_.” Theseus hissed.

“He just walked down to the park, but I…”

“ _When?_ ”

“Friday night, but if you’d listen to me for a fucking second…”

“And just _when the hell_ were you going to let me in on this?” Theseus demanded, slamming his highlighter down onto the kitchen table. On the couch, Newt jumped at the sudden noise, pulling his earbuds out.

“I’m telling you now. I didn’t say anything at the time because I knew you’d do this.” Percival replied, his own voice rising just a bit.

“You knew I’d- _You_ ,” Theseus hissed through gritted teeth, “Had no right to keep this from me, you should have _told_ me…”

“It’s not his fault.” Newt piped up, half off the couch and staring resolutely at the back of Theseus’ head, “It’s not— I’m the one who snuck out. Percival just came to find me.”

Theseus didn’t turn to look at Newt, instead fixing Percival with a venomous glare. “I don’t give a shit, he still should have _told_ me!” Theseus snapped.

“I should’ve told you.” Newt asserted, venturing a step closer to the kitchenette, “It was my fault, don’t yell at Percival.”

Percival stared at Newt for a moment. Was he honestly taking full blame for something that had been at least half Percival’s idea just so Theseus wouldn’t _yell_ at him? “No,” Percival shook his head, “I was the one who said we didn’t have to tell you right away. Don’t take the blame for me.” He directed his last statement at Newt, who glanced at him and back to his brother just as quickly.

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t- I couldn’t stay inside anymore, it was like I was suffocating.” Newt shook his head, though Theseus still hadn’t looked at him, “I didn’t want anyone to worry, I thought I’d get back before Percival got off work and no one would know and it’d… be okay. But he got back early and came and found me and I thought…”

“I didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell you then. You were already on edge.” Percival put in quickly.

“What did you think I was going to _do?_ ” Theseus snapped, finally looking from Percival to Newt.

Newt barely flinched under the scrutiny, rolling the shoulder of his good arm in a sort of shrug. “I don’t know. I thought… I thought _he_ might, uh, lose his temper at me. He had to come looking for me in the dark and…” Newt gestured vaguely at Percival, “But he didn’t. He said no one had the right to yell at me. Which… I just don’t think you should yell at _him_ just because he didn’t want _me_ to get in trouble with _you_.”

Theseus looked back to Percival, some of the ire on his face draining away to reveal a sort of curiosity, then turned to Newt. “Look, I’m not going to yell at you either, okay? I just… the _one_ big thing I asked you to do was not to just wander off on your own. And you did it the first chance you got.”

Newt’s shoulder’s hunched in a bit more. “I told you, I- I _couldn’t_. You haven’t let me go _anywhere_. I can’t stay _trapped_ in here, I’m sorry, it’s… I’ve never stayed inside for more than a day at a time even in the middle of winter, I can’t just stop wanting to… _go_.” Newt glanced up at Theseus, by now having walked around the table, “But I didn’t want to bother anyone.”

Lips pursed, Theseus ran a hand through his hair, gripping at the ends for a moment before letting go. “Percy wants to take you grocery shopping.” He announced finally.

Percival glanced over at Theseus, a brow raised at the phrasing, while Newt’s face scrunched up in confusion. “What?”

“He thinks you need to get out of the flat before you decide to sneak out again and he’s probably… right.” Theseus admitted, though he sounded displeased about the fact, “And you’re right, too, I can’t expect you to stay in the bloody flat for two weeks without going stir crazy, I just didn’t want you out in the city running around on your own when you have no idea what you’re doing or where you’re going.”

“I’m not completely clueless.” Newt frowned despite himself.

“But you’ve never been in a city before, either.”

“We went to London a bunch of times when I was younger.”

Theseus gave Newt a wry look. “Newt, you were four.”

Newt gave another half shrug and said nothing. Theseus shook his head. “I don’t really know what to do about the whole sneaking out thing. I can’t really ground you because it was kind of like you were already grounded in the first place and anyway that would feel _weird_.” Theseus’ mouth drew to the side in distaste for a moment, “So instead I’m going to send you grocery shopping with Percy because it’ll get you out of the house but it’s also the most unpleasant thing I can think of sending you to do.”

At this, Percival threw the pen he’d been using to write up the shopping list at Theseus, hitting him in the side of the head. “ _Ow_ ,” Theseus hissed, retaliating by throwing one of his highlighters across the table at Percival, “Bastard.”

The highlighter smacked Percival in the chest and he was tempted to throw it back when Newt cleared his throat. “So, am I… going grocery shopping, then?”

“If you want to.” Percival turned to tell him, only to receive a highlighter to the side of his head.

The look on his face must have been something, considering how hard Newt suddenly seemed to be fighting a smile, and Percival grabbed both the highlighters from where they’d fallen, pointing them at Theseus with intent. “If you throw one more thing at me, Scamander…”

“You started it.” Theseus huffed, though he looked like he was also biting back a grin.

“And I’ll end it.” Percival promised, whipping one of the highlighters at Theseus, who yelped.

“That actually _hurt_ , you mother- _hey!_ ” Theseus brought up his notebook in time to block the other highlighter, leaving it to clatter onto the table, “Stop throwing shit, it’s rude!” Theseus stretched over the table in an attempt to smack Percival with his notebook as the other tried to shield his head with his arm.

It was very likely the fight would’ve continued until all of Theseus’ writing utensils had fallen under the table or Percival’s mug met with the floor—they’d lost more than a few dishes that way—had Newt’s laughter not interrupted them. Rather than the little amused huffs or half chuckles Percival had grown used to, this was true, breathless _laughter_ that Newt was attempting to smother with his hand. Theseus looked down to where he was still lying halfway across the table and up to the notebook still clutched in his hand before he joined in with a snort, unrestrained and mirthful and infectious, and Percival couldn’t help but laugh, too, covering his eyes and leaning on the table as he tried to contain it.

Newt was the first to gain control, catching his breath as he held one hand gently over his ribs. “Sorry,” He coughed, still grinning, “You just…”

“Bah,” Theseus waved his notebook at Newt, letting his weight down more fully on the table as he continued to chuckle, “You probably saved Percy’s mug from breaking.”

“Again.” Percival added.

Eyeing the coffee mug sitting precariously close to the edge of the table, it seemed Newt was about to ask for further clarification but only shook his head. “I’m going to go put on shoes.” He announced, “So we can leave.”

“Does he expect me to go in my pajamas?” Percival looked down at the sweatpants and old t-shirt he was wearing as Newt disappeared into Theseus’ room.

“He probably didn’t notice.” Theseus replied, stretching and resting his chin on his arm.

Percival gave him a shove. “Will you get off the table? We’re supposed to eat on that.”

“So we’ll clean it.” Theseus shrugged, though he slithered back into his seat, “And I’m still angry at you.”

“No you’re not.” Percival scoffed as he got up to place his mug in the sink.

“I am so. A bit.” Theseus muttered, “But mostly… Thanks. For what you told him about the yelling and all that. Been trying to tell him that, but maybe if he hears it from someone else it’ll start to take.”

Pausing at the sink, Percival turned to look back at Theseus. “He looked like I was about to _eat_ him or something. No matter what you keep implying, I don’t actually like it when people are terrified of me.”

“Well either he’s literally desperate to get out of the flat or he’s warmed up to you. Far cry from trying to become part of the wallpaper the first time he met you.”

Percival snorted at the memory. “It’s a start.”

“That it is. But you should probably go put on some real clothes or Newt might actually drag you to the store like that.” Theseus pointed out.

“Right…” Percival plucked at the edge of his old t-shirt and headed towards his own room.

“And I never implied you like it when people are terrified of you, I said you can’t help but terrify them!” Theseus called after him, “I think it’s your eyebrows!”

“Bite me, Scamander!”


End file.
